In the wake of Florida’s redistricting shake-up, the Democratic Black Caucus of Broward County has made an urgent plea to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Do not run in Florida’s 20th district.
“Black voters have always been the soul of the Democratic Party, and Florida's 20th Congressional District has been an anchor of Black political representation for over three decades. We have a duty to speak on what happens to it next,” the organization said in a press release.
Wasserman Schultz is one of many incumbent South Florida Democrats whose districts were carved up by the state’s redistricting effort that seeks to tighten Republican control of Florida’s congressional delegation. She is the incumbent in FL-25 which covered most of southern Broward, but now occupies the coastal region from Delray Beach to Miami Beach.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Plantation on Friday, Wasserman Schultz confirmed she would run for reelection, but was noncommittal on where she would run, saying only: “ I will be running in a district where I have an opportunity and the privilege to continue to represent my constituents in South Florida.”
READ MORE: Wasserman Schultz will run in 2026, not sure what district
The Democratic Black Caucus of Broward County made clear that it hoped FL-20 was not Wasserman Schultz’s landing spot.
“To Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz: we acknowledge the new map dismantled much of your current district. It hurt many of us, and it hurt you too. What we ask is that the choice you make not be FL-20. The new map produced other districts where your record would make you a strong candidate. None of them is this one,” the group's press release said.
FL- 20 is seen as a reliable Democratic district. In fact, it was one of four districts colored blue for Democrat when Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled his newly drawn maps to Fox News last week. Six candidates, all of whom are black, have filed to run in the Democratic Primary, but none have any congressional experience, unlike Wasserman Schultz who has represented South Florida in the House of Representatives since 2005.
The area has historically been represented by Black congresspeople. Alcee Hastings was elected in 1992 as the area’s first Black representative since Reconstruction. He held the seat until his death in 2021. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick held the seat from 2022 until last month, when she resigned amid a cloud of scandal. That means the district has no incumbent until the midterms or until DeSantis calls a special election.
The Democratic Black Caucus of Broward County said that in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which narrowed section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and kicked off redistricting efforts in states across the country, Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run in FL-20 could set a worrying precedent for Black districts nationwide.
“Florida's 20th is the first vacant Black-opportunity district to face a Democratic primary in the post-Callais era. Six Black candidates are already in the field. The Black share of the primary electorate is over fifty percent,” the press release said. “If a non-Black Democratic incumbent can come into a vacant Black-opportunity district, consolidate against a fractured Black field, and win, every other Black-opportunity district in the South that loses its incumbent becomes available to the next displaced non-Black Democrat the same way.”
Wasserman Schultz resides in the new FL-22, which stretches from Western Broward and Palm Beach Counties to Naples. Her colleague, U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D- Parkland), is also now located in FL-22 as is the seat held by gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R- Naples).
Moskowitz has also declined to stake a claim to any of the newly created districts, calling his decision a “toss-up.”
Candidates for the House of Representatives do not need to live in the district they represent, just be a resident of the state their district is located in.
