The Florida Primary Just Got Much Nastier

A white congresswoman’s decision to run in one of Florida’s last majority-Black congressional districts has set off a bitter primary fight over race, power, and who truly speaks for a community.

Story Snapshot

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is running in Florida’s 20th Congressional District after Republicans redrew her old seat out of existence.
Black politicians in Broward County publicly asked her not to run there, saying the seat has been held by Black lawmakers for decades.
Progressive activist Elijah Manley, who is Black, argues the district needs a representative who shares residents’ lived experience.
The crowded August 18 primary also includes Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Dale Holness, Rudolph Moise, and indicted incumbent Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

A Historic Black Seat Faces a New Contender

Florida’s 20th Congressional District covers Broward County and has sent Black lawmakers to Congress for roughly 34 years. Wasserman Schultz announced in May 2026 that she would run there after state Republicans redrew her old district out of existence. The move angered Black elected officials who had asked her beforehand to stay out of the race and let the historically Black seat remain in Black hands.

The district leans heavily Democratic, and its population is nearly half Black, roughly a quarter Hispanic, and about one-fifth white. That makeup fuels the argument that whoever wins the primary will almost certainly win the general election, making the Democratic contest the real fight for the seat’s future direction.

Manley’s Case for Community Representation

Elijah Manley, a 27-year-old teacher and democratic socialist who has campaigned in the district since 2025, says the seat should stay in the hands of someone who grew up facing the same struggles as its residents. Manley has emphasized his own background of poverty and homelessness in the district and has become the race’s top fundraiser, pulling in nearly $780,000.

A bipartisan political action committee, Alliance 4 American Leadership, endorsed Manley’s bid, describing the district as spanning a majority-Black area and framing his campaign as a chance to keep that representation intact. Manley is one of several Black candidates in the race making similar arguments against Wasserman Schultz’s candidacy.

Wasserman Schultz Defends Her Record

Wasserman Schultz has pushed back on the criticism, saying her decades of service in Broward County give her the standing to represent the district’s diverse communities. “I’ve fought for the people of Broward County my whole adult life, and you’ve always been able to count on me to deliver results for our community,” she said after announcing her run.

She has also pointed to her name recognition and experience, noting she previously represented nine of the district’s 14 cities. “I know how to stand up for, fight for and represent diverse communities,” she said, adding that voters do not want “to start over with a beginner”.

A Crowded, Combative Primary

The August 18 primary includes five major names: Wasserman Schultz, Manley, Miami hip-hop pioneer Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, physician Rudolph Moise, and former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness. Incumbent Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned this year, remains on the ballot despite facing a criminal indictment over allegedly diverting disaster relief funds to her campaign.

Tensions have boiled over publicly. At a July debate, candidates accused each other of dishonesty, and several opponents argued directly that someone who shares the district’s lived experience should hold the seat, a pointed rebuke of Wasserman Schultz’s candidacy without naming her outright.

Broader Stakes for Black Representation in Congress

The fight fits a larger national pattern. Research on majority-minority districts shows they tend to produce strong incumbency advantages and make race-based representation claims especially important to voters, since shared identity can shape how constituents judge their representatives. Nationally, Black lawmakers hold a meaningful share of Congress, but experts warn that number could shrink as courts weaken voting rights protections and states redraw maps.

For voters on both sides of the aisle already skeptical of entrenched politicians, the District 20 clash offers a real-world test of whether seniority and name recognition should outweigh community ties in deciding who gets to hold power in Washington.