Black Democrats Are Scrambling to Find Someone to Run Against Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Black Democrats in Florida and Washington are infuriated with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Two weeks after Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) announced she will be seeking reelection in Florida’s new 20th Congressional District, four Black Democratic candidates competing in the race are hoping to stop her from winning the nomination in a district that has historically been represented by a Black lawmaker.

Democrats were surprised by the senior Democrat’s move, which followed Gov. Ron DeSantis signing legislation that redrew the state’s congressional maps in an effort to bolster Republicans’ chances to pick up seats in the 2026 midterms. Wasserman Schultz’s current district was effectively eliminated.

In a four-hour meeting on Monday in Pompano Beach, the four candidates — former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, rapper Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick and activist Elijah Manley — voted 3-1 to consolidate behind one candidate to defeat Wasserman Schultz.

“It was a long conversation,” Manley — who declined to say who voted against consolidating — told NOTUS. “We had to get real, egos had to be put aside.”

“We had to be honest with ourselves, you know, maybe the math is not mathing with all of us in the race,” Manley added. He told NOTUS that the candidates cross-examined each other during the meeting, with each having to explain what their strengths and weaknesses were.

The candidates did not decide who they would back in the Aug. 18 primary, but Holness said he expects candidates to make a decision by “no later than Wednesday morning” because some candidates are considering filing for different congressional races or potentially for statewide offices, and they might need a few days “to get our paperwork to Tallahassee to finalize what we’re doing.” He did not name which candidates are considering those options.

The filing deadline in Florida is on Friday.

The backlash against Wasserman Schultz started shortly after she announced her reelection bid last month: The Florida Legislative Black Caucus denounced her candidacy; Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke said she did not encourage Wasserman Schultz to run in the district, despite Wasserman Schultz’s suggestions to the contrary; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has twice declined to endorse her in the race.

Clarke told NOTUS the CBC has not yet made a decision on whether its political operation will back Wasserman Schultz. Rep. Nikema Williams, a member of the CBC PAC’s board, said they are waiting to see which candidate will be selected to run against Wasserman Schultz and will then consult with Florida members “to make sure that we discuss what their preference is.”

But, she added, “I also know that right now, Black representation has been under attack.”

“At a time when we are fighting for Black voices and Black representation, I think that it is important that we look at this as the big picture, making sure that we are not giving up spaces where we need Black representation because it’s being erased across the country,” Williams continued, referring to the Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act and decided that race-based redistricting is unconstitutional.

When asked on Monday if he had made a decision on whether to back Wasserman Schultz, Jeffries told reporters, “Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been a highly productive, hard working, conscientious member of the House Democratic Caucus for more than 20 years and is now a very important member of the leadership team.”

“I’ll leave it at that,” he continued.

Last week, Jeffries said that candidates have “the right to run where they see fit,” but he added that “we all recognize the sensitivities of the moment in terms of an unprecedented Jim Crow white assault on Black political representation that has been unleashed by the Supreme Court’s outrageous decision to gut the Voting Rights Act.”

Wasserman Schultz told NOTUS that she has had “tremendous response across the district” and “very positive support” since she announced her candidacy.

“My seniority, my service on the Appropriations Committee, my being in a leadership role on the Appropriations Committee, as well as on Leader Jeffries’ leadership team, that’s something that will enable me to be the best candidate that we’ll be able to deliver on Day 1,” Wasserman Schultz added.

CBC members are privately frustrated about Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run in the district. Three members, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly, told NOTUS they find it unlikely that CBC PAC will back Wasserman Schultz in the race.

One member said the CBC “will probably just stay neutral” instead of backing anyone in the race.

“Usually in stuff like that, especially when we’re dealing with an incumbent, that’s usually the case,” the lawmaker added. “I can’t imagine we’ll want to get involved in it.”

Another CBC member described Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run as a “clusterfuck that didn’t have to happen.”

DeSantis’ office told Florida state legislators that he targeted the old 20th district — which was formerly represented by Cherfilus McCormick, who resigned due to an Ethics investigation but is still running for reelection — because it previously was an example of “racial predominance.” The new congressional map, DeSantis’ office said, “does not take race into consideration at all.”

Still, Florida’s newly redrawn 20th Congressional District remains a majority minority district, with a 42% Black population. For that reason, some Black Democrats question Wasserman Schultz’s candidacy in the race.

The Black candidates in the race argued the district should be represented by a Black Democrat.

“The understanding is this: that this district being a majority minority seat, 76% that is, that the person representing the district should have the lived experience of the majority of the people in the district,” Holness told NOTUS.

Holness said that he had given Wasserman Schultz data that showed she could win in Florida’s new 22nd Congressional District, where he said the congresswoman’s home is located. He told NOTUS that the two of them spoke last Monday and he told her he was “disappointed” in her decision to run in Florida’s 20th District.

“She followed me a little bit and says, ‘Look, this is not personal. I want to preserve seniority.’ I said, ‘But you could win 22,’” Holness recalled. He added that ultimately Wasserman Schultz told him, “Well, I made my decision.”

Wasserman Schultz, who confirmed that she spoke with Holness last Monday, told NOTUS Holness did not provide an “accurate” description of the conversation.

“I didn’t say I wanted to preserve my seniority, that doesn’t make any sense,” Wasserman Schultz said. She said that she told him “that it’s imperative that our community have someone who has the clout and the seniority to be able to deliver for the district immediately, as opposed to any of the other candidates who would be freshmen and would be starting from the beginning.”

Polling for the FL-20 race has been limited. Wasserman Schultz’s campaign released a poll of 400 likely voters in late May that showed the congresswoman had 52% of the vote against others running, though the campaign did not release the names of the other candidates it tested. The campaign did not respond to NOTUS’ requests to see the number breakdown.

Manley told NOTUS he’s trying to convince the other candidates that “I have the best chance of beating Debbie.” He added that he will “be able to bring the resources to fight her in the primary.”

Manley leads the four candidates challenging Wasserman Schultz in fundraising, having raised over $779,000 between January and March, according to recent campaign finance data. Holness and Cherfilus McCormick have each raised over $300,000 in that time frame, and Campbell roughly $40,000. However, Wasserman Schultz leads her Democratic opponents in fundraising, having raised over $2 million this year.