Black Democrats push back on Wasserman Schultz's bid in Florida's 20th District

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

06/20/26 5:00 PM ET


Some Black Democrats are frustrated with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-Fla.) decision to run in a South Florida congressional district home to a large Black voting population, sparking an intraparty clash that is poised to become a defining battle of the campaign season.

Wasserman Schultz, a veteran lawmaker who has served in Congress since 2005, is running in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, which had been represented by former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) for four years before she resigned in April.

Wasserman Schultz’s bid comes after GOP-led redistricting efforts in the state reshaped her current 25th District, making it far more favorable for Republicans. But her political opponents and other critics argue that her move not only disregards the district’s unique history and undermines opportunities for Black political representation, but is also a slight to Black voters.

“I think, for sure, it was a bad move by the congresswoman to run in this district. It was selfish and all about her, her career, and not about the community. She failed to do any meaningful dialogue with the community before announcing her run, and it comes off as a hostile takeover of the district,” said Elijah Manley, a 27-year-old Black Democrat and progressive organizer running against her in the primary. “I mean, so many people she ignored and didn’t have conversations with, from the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, and the chair of that caucus as well, to the Black elected officials.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5931183-black-democrats-wasserman-schultz-florida/

[Tetrachloride]

1. Everything is okay when the DNC is in charge

or the situation is Florida. Now they have both.

[QueerDuck]

2. The voters will decide. It will be interesting to see whom they choose.

[Billsdaughter]

3. Exactly...

This is the precise purpose of primary elections. Pick your pony for the primary and, come what may, get on board in the general.

[LeftInTX]

12. I think part of the problem was that the AA community doesn't have a strong candidate

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was the incumbent, but she resigned from congress in April. She is still on the ballot. Their filing deadline was June 12. Losing their current congresswoman likely left the community in a vacuum. If Wassermann-Schultz wins, the community will likely find a stronger candidate next cycle.

South Florida Congresswoman Charged with Stealing $5 Million in FEMA Funds and Making Illegal Campaign Contributions
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/south-florida-congresswoman-charged-stealing-5-million-fema-funds-and-making-illegal

[Billsdaughter]

20. Wow that's quite a turn of events!

Makes so much more sense for Wasserman Schultz to step in.

[BComplex]

4. Wasserman Schultz has never been one of my favorite democrats.

And I never respected what she did as head of the DNC...or was it DLC? Long time ago. Not surprised she never ran it through the community before she decided this should be hers.

But if they elect her in the primary, so be it.

[Clouds Passing]

5. She needs to retire

Kathleen Harris’ bff

[DemocracyForever]

18. You mean Katherine Harris

of stolen 2000 election in Florida fame?

[MIButterfly]

6. I remember she was one of the many who went after Al Franken

She said something to the effect that women will know that the Democratic Party stands up for women and at the time I remember thinking, yeah, women who voted for DJT (and there ARE women who voted for DJT) will now vote for Democrats because they threw Al Franken under the bus.

[DemocracyForever]

17. Sexual harassment is a serious issue

and she was right to call out Franken for it.

[Miguelito Loveless]

7. electability arguement

In 3..2..1..

[angryxyouth]

8. I don't like her

She was instrumental in getting rid of Bernie Sanders in favor of Hillary Clinton.

[yardwork]

10. Nobody got rid of Bernie Sanders.

He's everywhere.

And it's such a boring tired old lie that somehow the intentions of millions of Democratic primary voters got "overturned" or something.

I voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary because I thought she was the best candidate. I'm sick and tired of being told that my vote wasn't real and some shadowy cabal "stole" the nomination that Bernie Sanders somehow deserved.

Bernie the martyr. How dull.

[IbogaProject]

13. Then why was there has constant drumbeat of it's over as Ms Clinton has the "Super Delegates" early in the primary?

Bernie was constantly polling higher vs the GOP and I hate to say it the machine really pushed her over the line. Face it either we admit PACs and Citizens United have harmed our national elections or we accept that the wealthy get to push us around. Would she have been a better president than this current guy? Of course she would, but we lost voters after the machine worked so hard to make it appear to be a steal by pushing the narrative all over really early in the primary. I still remember in March of 2016 when DailyKos announced no more Bernie support when most of the country hadn't voted in the primaries. The DK logic was that she "had the super delegates locked up". I voted for her in the general but I didn't vote for her in 2016 nor 2008. `

[yardwork]

15. DailyKos doesn't speak for me.

[angryxyouth]

19. For fun I just did a ChatGPT experiment

I asked how Debbie Wasserman Schultz affected the 2016 Democratic primary and this is what it came back with.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, as chair of the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential primaries, faced criticism for actions perceived as favoring Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. These included limiting the number of debates and scheduling them at times with lower viewership, which critics argued disadvantaged Sanders. Additionally, leaked DNC emails suggested bias against Sanders, leading to her resignation as DNC chair in July 2016.

Second question I asked about the leaked emails (the days of wiki leaks)

In July 2016, WikiLeaks published nearly 20,000 internal DNC emails. The leak revealed that committee officials, including then-Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, actively favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders and took steps to undermine his campaign, directly violating the DNC's pledge of neutrality.Key Revelations:Contempt for Sanders: Emails showed top officials privately mocking Sanders, calling his campaign "a mess," and questioning his understanding of the Democratic party.Attacking Sanders's Faith: In one exchange, DNC staffers discussed whether they could use Sanders's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) to weaken him in the eyes of Southern voters.Controlling Media Narratives: Officials frequently coordinated with journalists to push negative stories about the Sanders campaign and demanded retractions or apologies from media figures (like Mika Brzezinski) who accused the DNC of bias.Campaign Scheduling: Wasserman Schultz actively defended and controlled a debate schedule that heavily favored the Clinton campaign, frustrating Sanders and his supporters.The Aftermath:Resignation: The leak caused massive outrage on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, forcing Wasserman Schultz to step down as DNC Chair.Official Apology: Following the scandal, the DNC issued a formal apology to Bernie Sanders and his supporters for the "inexcusable remarks" made over email.Fallout: The FBI and intelligence agencies later concluded that Russian state actors were responsible for hacking the DNC servers to leak the emails.

That’s pretty much the way I remember it.

[LeftInTX]

11. Sounds like her opposition needs to coalesce behind a candidate.

This was Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick's district, but she resigned from congress and it seems like they are left with fragmented candidates.
If the AA community doesn't have a strong candidate this cycle, maybe next cycle?

This is the result of the GOP's gerrymandering.

We had something similar in Houston. However, the AA community was organized and already had strong candidates to replace Sylvester Turner who had died before redistricting. Christian Manefee (Harris County DA) won the old seat in a special election in November. However, the GOP combined Al Green's and Manefee's district. Al Green's new district was now red. Al Green challenged Manefee in the primary and lost.


I had been getting texts from Manefee for months and months and months. Didn't even know who the guy was, because he wasn't local at all, but heck he was organized. He was one of those random candidates who just kept popping up on my phone.

[Wonder Why]

14. The right wing has the leopards to eat their faces. We eat our own.

[SoFlaBro]

16. Not the best fucking look but DWS is 1,400 times better than than any MAGA fuckwad she would be up against in November.