One thing is certain about Broward's 20th congressional district: the winner of the Democratic primary in August will likely coast to victory in November because it's the only solidly Democratic district in Florida’s bluest county.
That's because Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis redrew the state's congressional maps ahead of this year's midterm elections to increase the GOP advantage in Florida’s House delegation to 24 to 4, up from the current split of 20 to 8. The Florida Legislature approved it.
On Monday night, the Broward County Black Democratic Caucus invited Democrats to make their case for being the right person for the job. Five of six candidates appeared before the caucus; only candidate Rudy Moise did not attend.
READ MORE: Black Caucus leader: Broward’s 20th U.S. House district must be protected amid redistricting squeeze
The caucus has asked white Democratic representatives — including U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose 25th district was turned into a GOP stronghold — not to run for re-election in the 20th congressional district because it's a seat long considered a stronghold for Black representation.
Wasserman Schultz has said she is planning to run for re-election but has not indicated what congressional race she would compete in. She has held Florida's 25th congressional district since being first elected in 2004. Her district is now more favorable to a Republican candidate.
Each candidate on Monday night was also asked about Wasserman Schultz potentially joining the race. Multiple members of the audience asked if the candidates would consider stepping away to consolidate the Black vote. They expressed concerns that if Wasserman Schultz were to enter, she would easily defeat the fractured Black field. All offered an answer except for Maisha Williams. None of the candidates who answered seemed interested in dropping out.
Dale Holness: “ The Black community have been the most loyal to the Democratic Party. In fact, we vote 90-plus percent every election as Democrats. We're the most loyal. And to not see the importance of our vote and our voice is really sad, and it makes a lot of people angry too, and rightly so.”
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick: “ This fight between Democrats is something that the Republicans have set up to do. They set this up perfectly. This fight between communities is something they set up to do. For us to get past this moment, we have to demand that our representatives dig in their heels and fight.”
Elijah Manley: “ I don't know who Debbie Wasserman Schultz is listening to, but what she needs to do is run where she lives in the 22nd Congressional District… Instead of tearing our party to pieces selfishly — which is what the congresswoman is doing — selfishly tearing the community apart.”
Luther Campbell: “ I will not be running from no Debbie Wasserman Schultz under no circumstances because at the end of the day, people are going to vote for who they want to vote for.... But it takes the people to stand up to the oppressor. And she is the oppressor. She's no different than anything that they're doing in Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama. She's no different at the end of the day.”
Making the case as best candidate
Here’s how the Democratic candidates for FL-20 pitched themselves as the right choice to represent the district:
Maisha Williams
The step daughter of the late Congressman Alcee Hastings, who held this seat from his inauguration in 1993 until his death in 2021, is the latest entry into the race. She seemed to signal that she would need more time before she officially declared to run.
“My campaign is going to hold our final comment on this until everything has been assessed and until I have heard from the other candidates who have entered this race far before I have,” she said.
Williams did not make another comment after her introductory statement.
Dale Holness
The former Broward County Commissioner ran for this seat in the primary of the 2021 special election and 2022 midterm, losing to Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick on both occasions. The former mayor of Lauderhill asked the crowd “Are you ready to fight?”
“ We fought to get to where we are today. Our ancestors did, whether you were in Jamaica with the Maroons, in Haiti, here in America. And we still continue to struggle and fight. We shouldn't have to, but that's the cards that we're dealt, and we as a people know how to deal with a bad hand,” he said.
He also touted his record on the County Commission, where he says he fought to rewrite Broward’s procurement policy to include more minority and women-owned businesses in County contracts.
“ When I got there in 2010, [minority and women-owned business participation] was only 10.25%. By the time I left, it was almost 50%. $248 million that year went to small minority and women-owned businesses because we changed the policy. That's what politics is about, changing policies to benefit the people you serve,” he said.
Elijah Manley
The activist has run for office a handful of times unsuccessfully, most recently in a bid for Florida State House District 99 in 2022. He has been in this race the longest, since February of 2025. He focused his opening remarks on Donald Trump.
“ Are y'all ready to kick Donald Trump out of that White House in January? I need to hear that energy because we need to take this country back in November, because this may be the last free and fair election this country has if we don't get our act together,” he said.
The key issues he highlighted included Medicare for All and securing Black voting rights and representation.
“ With this new Jim Crow era, with these rigged maps from Tallahassee, we might see the largest decimation of the Congressional Black Caucus since its creation,” he said.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
The former congresswoman resigned in a cloud of controversy in April. She was scheduled to be formally be disciplined by the House after the Committee on Ethics found her guilty in an investigation into her campaign funds. She addressed the controversy at the meeting.
“ I hear everything that everybody's trying to say and accusations they brought against me, and I told everybody it is absolutely false. But you guys know me better than anybody else knows me. I served this district for 365 days [a year] for five years. No one in here can say that I've ever done anything shady to anybody but actually try to take care of them and actually fight for them,” she said.
Cherfilus-McCormick highlighted her experience in Congress as the biggest feather in her cap.
“ This ain't no time for us to be shopping around and figuring out and trying out something new. This is time for us to dig in our heels and fight the hell out of these people 'cause we about to win. But we cannot win if we're gonna be distracted,” she said.
Luther Campbell
The businessman and rapper found national fame as the leader of 2 Live Crew. He became a First Amendment activist in 1994 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc, a case that ensured song parodies were protected as free speech.
He leaned on his work as a high school football coach and business background to sway voters.
“ I put more kids in college than law allows. What I mean is, I'm a businessman. I'm not a politician. I'm not gonna come up here and sound like a politician under no circumstance. I did not come here, I did not get in this race for political purposes, for any kind of power,” he said.
