U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz upset many Black leaders when she opted to seek re-election in a plurality Black seat. But with four Democratic opponents splitting the vote against her — including one who represented Florida’s 20th Congressional District until four months ago — the question is whether any of them can actually beat her.
The Weston Democrat faces rapper-turned-community activist Luther Campbell, indicted ex-U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness and progressive activist Elijah Manley in a nationally watched Democratic Primary on Aug. 18.
A chorus of leaders in South Florida’s Black community and the Democratic Party writ large voiced frustration when Wasserman Schultz decided to run in CD 20 rather than Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, where she lives under the new map Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May. But that seat runs from her Weston home west through Hendry County to Marco Island on the Gulf Coast.
Moreover, as Florida’s longest-serving Democrat currently holding federal office, Wasserman Schultz has argued there’s more at stake for the region than her own political livelihood.
“The most important thing was where and whether I could best represent the people of Broward County and ensure that Ron DeSantis isn’t able to dismantle and take apart Broward County’s clout and power,” she said.
The Congresswoman said she shares the view of community leaders that DeSantis wrongly tried to erase minority representation when he drew a map with no majority Black seats. But she has also rallied the support of many Black leaders in the community, many of whom she worked alongside through years as a mentee of the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings.
Just this week, her campaign’s social media touted endorsements from Nova Southeastern University professor Gregory Gayle and former Hastings Chief of Staff Art Kennedy. She also retained endorsements from Equality PAC — which also backed Manley — the League of Conservation Voters and the Broward Teachers Union.
She has dominated in fundraising. Wasserman Schultz raised $3.3 million this cycle and spent nearly $2.3 million of it through July 29, closing the pre-primary reporting period with $1.86 million still in the bank. Manley, by comparison, raised $1.06 million and spent all but about $34,000 of that and closing the period carrying nearly $78,000 in debt. Cherfilus-McCormick has reported $389,000, including about $13,000 in candidate loans, and spent $387,000. She ended July $1,264 in the red with another $11,650 owed. Holness raised $395,000, including $71,000 in candidate loans, spent $145,000 and had $269,000 left. Campbell reported $164,000, including about $16,000 in candidate loan, spent $more than 101,000 and finished July with $almost 63,000 in cash.
Meanwhile, the other candidates have worked to make the case that Black representation matters more than congressional seniority. Manley, a 27-year-old who already intended to run in the seat before the new map was published, can argue he has the ability to build more seniority over time than anyone else in the field if he were sworn into Congress in January.
An openly gay Jewish convert, Manley has argued he brings the lived experience of both Broward County’s Black community and other pockets such as Florida’s LGBTQ “capital” in Wilton Manors, where he intends to host his victory party.
He has been heavily critical of Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run in the district at all.
“She is no different than the Republicans that are eviscerating black representation across the South. She is everything that’s wrong with the broken unpopular Democratic establishment,” he said.
But he also argues he would bring less baggage than anyone else on the Democratic ballot Tuesday — a case he was already prepared to make when he was challenging Cherfilus-McCormick’s re-election.
Cherfilus-McCormick won a 2022 Special Election in CD 20 after Hastings’ death, though how she got there followed her through her entire congressional career. A House Ethics Committee investigation ultimately found she illegally siphoned money her family’s healthcare company received in overpayments from the state’s pandemic response, then routed it into her campaign.
Cherfilus-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing and maintained she was paid for work that was done. But after the Committee found in March that she had committed 25 of 27 alleged violations, she resigned her House seat in April — minutes before a hearing on whether to recommend her expulsion. She is still running for the seat in the next Congress, but will also head to federal court next year after Justice Department prosecutors indicted her for stealing $5 million in emergency funding. She has maintained the entire process was unfair and criticized the House Ethics Committee for acting while she awaits trial.
“This was not a fair process. The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement released this summer. “By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself. I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt.”
Of note, the Primary that sent her to that Special Election was decided by only five votes after a recount. She defeated Holness, who has called the controversy since then “heartbreaking.” He lost to her again in 2022’s regular Primary by a wider margin, and was preparing to challenge her again before her early exit — a challenge no one mounted in 2024, when Campbell filed against her and then failed to qualify.
Besides Wasserman Schultz, Holness holds the longest public service record in the field, with 18 years as a Lauderhill Commissioner and then a member of the Broward County Commission. He faced criticism for allegedly saying in a private meeting about consolidating the Black vote that “the Jews are coming for all the seats.” Holness has denied making the remark and stressed his longtime cooperation with Broward’s Jewish community and leaders, including Wasserman Schultz.
Campbell, the former frontman of the 1980s and ’90s rap group 2 Live Crew, has offered some of the campaign’s most unapologetic commentary, often on a regular podcast viewable on social media. After leaders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority met with Wasserman Schultz for a public lunch, he recorded a video castigating the two Divine Nine organizations and calling their members “tap dancers.”
“Now, the Alphas meeting at Spoon’s restaurant with her, taking a picture with their chest stuck out, like they’re doing something special with the colonizer,” he said.
“If you know the story about Harriet Tubman, the ones who ratted and snitched on her, they didn’t end up too well. I don’t call for violence against any organization or any group or any individuals. I just say, keep that picture with you forever, because everybody ain’t for you.”
Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].
August 15, 2026 at 1:15 pm
I will never forget Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s extreme efforts to build an immigration prison in the “backyards” of southwest Broward County residents around 15 years ago. She threw all of us under the bus for her own gain and should have been thrown out then, but money keeps getting her elected. Sadly she’s leading the polls again. She has done nothing for us… why won’t voters learn???
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