Could Debbie Wasserman Schultz face pushback if she runs in this Florida Congressional district?

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]And let me start by wishing all the moms out there a happy Mother's Day. Now on Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill redrawing congressional districts in Florida. The new map, drawn using voter files and partisan information, could help Republicans pick up four additional seats in Florida. As we noted last week, DeSantis decided that he doesn't have to follow the Florida Constitution, which prohibits political gerrymandering. So, while the governor is picking and choosing which parts of the Florida Constitution he wants to follow, a political firestorm is brewing as Democratic politicians, whose seats were wiped out, are now trying to figure out where to run.

[00:00:43]Jared Moskowitz seems likely to run in the newly drawn congressional district 25, which includes Miami Beach and Aventura, and runs up the coast through Fort Lauderdale all the way to Boca Raton and Delray Beach. His announcement is expected by the end of next week. The real mystery is what Debbie Wasserman Schultz will do. The longest-serving congressional Democrat in Florida, she has been in the House for more than two decades. She could run in the new District 22, but it is a district Trump won by 10 points. The more likely option is that she'll run in Congressional District 20, which is solidly Democratic, but it is also an area that has been represented by African Americans for the last 32 years.

[00:01:29]The district is 40% black, and there are currently at least four African Americans running in that seat, which means Wasserman Schultz will be counting on her opponents in the primary splitting up the African-American vote and allowing her to become the nominee.

[00:01:44]The Broward County Democratic Black Caucus has asked Wasserman Schultz not to run for that seat, and it is clear that if she did run, it would turn into an ugly and potentially racial affair.

[00:01:56]But again, it may be her best shot at remaining in Congress.

[00:02:00]This week, I spoke to state senator Rosalind Osgood, who does not believe Wasserman Schultz should run in a seat long held by African-Americans.

[00:02:09]So, Jim, as you know, the Democratic Party has been held together through the strong coalition of Jews and black people.

[00:02:19]We've always worked collaboratively with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

[00:02:25]Certainly, I represent a district that's multiracial.

[00:02:30]Um I try to serve all of my constituents. But, when you're black in America, you have a different lived experience. It is critically important to have someone with your lived experience representing you in Congress to be a part of those conversations, those debates. We're just saying, "Don't minimize our opportunity." This is exactly what Ron DeSantis' intentions was. If you look at congressional 20 district areas like Plantation, Sunrise, it's kind of a map where the black people live. So, you pack many of us into one district, you crack out certain parts of the community like you put Belle Glade in another district, people in Palm Beach. So, the black people's vote and representation is not equal, it's diluted. So, if you have a race with six black people in, and um Debbie gets in that race, you know, maybe the thought is is that the black people will dilute the vote, and it gives her an automatic shoe-in. I don't know if it's the easiest path forward to with her. I did talk to her.

[00:03:45]She explained to me how important seniority is in Congress, and we want to keep her in Congress. But, we're just asking her to consider running in a district that she was drawn into or even in the coastal district where Moskowitz says he's going to run, where it's predominantly Jew. So, when you look at what's going on in Broward, particularly Palm Beach and Broward, how the district's being tapped, it kind of gives incumbents like Lois Frankel, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, you know, Moskowitz, it's like they're vying to protect their seats. And what we're saying is we've been an ally.

[00:04:23]We've been a supporter. You know, we want to have someone with our lived experience. Let our community kind of decide through the voting process who that person is going to be.

[00:04:36]>> me let me let me jump in and let me push back a little. As you noted earlier, you represent a multiracial, multicultural district yourself. I'm sure that the whites and Hispanics in your district, you know, think that you probably represent them well and are doing a good job and you certainly are trying to do the best for them. Could you know, could you not see the argument that because of Debbie Wasserman Schultz's seniority, because of her standing in Congress that that she might be able to do things for Congressional District 20 that a freshman member of Congress like either a Dale Holness or Luther Campbell or or you know, any of the other candidates in there would be able to do?

[00:05:21]The difference is is when you go back to the history of why this seat was created during this redistricting time in 1992.

[00:05:31]It was to have someone with people with black lived experiences in Congress.

[00:05:38]And we can't move away from that historical fact. It's kind of like as a black person you feel like we had reconstruction, then we got the Jim Crow, the poll tax.

[00:05:51]So, now redistricting is being used to suppress our vote.

[00:05:56]So, historically for us, because of why the seat was created, it's like something is now being taken away from us. And we're just trying to explain and get Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz to understand how important it is to us in our community to have someone with our lived experience. Sure, she might be able to do things for our community, but she doesn't have the lived experience to fight on certain issues and explain why they're important to our community. Do you envision that if Debbie Wasserman Schultz were to get into District 20, she would be counting on the idea that because there are so many black candidates already in the race, that they would, as you mentioned earlier, dilute the vote or divvy up the vote, and that she could potentially win the Democratic primary with maybe 30% of the vote, 35% of the vote. Do you think that that if she were to get in the race, that all of the other black candidates should remain in the race, or do you think that they should among themselves decide to galvanize behind just one candidate? And if that's the case, who do you think that one candidate should be to run against her?

[00:07:14]And maybe they will decide to do that. I don't know who that one candidate should be to run against her. I think if she gets into the race, the community will come together and come up with a strategy to try to put our community in the best position to have someone with our lived experience. But we Debbie has been an ally with us. So, we don't want it to be us against Debbie. She has 2.5, I think, million dollars. She has other options. And we're asking her to consider those other options that we could continue to work as allies together and not have this divide. The other issue is the overall party issue. People often times talk about how blacks don't come out to vote.

[00:08:03]Many blacks will tell you in community as you're talking to them, "Nothing changes for us with the Republican Party or the Democratic Party." So, this has the potential to now also impact the governor's race from the Democratic Party perspective and a lot of other races because black people with black lived experience want it to be fair. We want to have someone with our lived experience representing us in Congress. We've had it for 34 years. We want little black boys and little black girls to see somebody that look like them so that they can dream and have an idea of a possibility of an opportunity. We don't want to go down that road with Debbie.

[00:08:44]We want to continue to work in partnership with Debbie. She's supported our community. We've supported her. And we just need her to pause and hear us.

[00:08:57]Um and understand, you know, it for my And I know it's hard. When you don't have a black lived experience, you can't imagine the the difference it is when you're in that black lived experience and we we talk about erasing black history. Now we're looking at erasing black representation.

[00:09:16]It is very important to the participation of black people, what we're going to do in the future, and how we move forward. If Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz decides to run in Congressional District 22 because I I think that's the other district she's looking at is 20 and 22.

[00:09:35]If she were to run in another district and not run in District 20, would you potentially get into Congressional District 20 in the race itself? Do you think you're Would you be a potential candidate for Congress as well?

[00:09:48]Well, I have a lot of people asking me that question. And you know my history.

[00:09:53]I kind of go with my community. I have to consider everything. I love where I'm at in the Senate. I get results. I work very well across the aisle because that's how I think democracy should be.

[00:10:05]I think we could have difference of opinions, but when we focus on people and prioritize people and issues and have conversations, we're able to get things done. So, I have to consider everything. You know, I would prefer to stay in my Senate seat and do what I'm doing. Um, but I kind of go with how the community pushes me and what the community asks of me. So, I have to consider all my options. Well, let me ask you this. If she were to run in that race, do you [snorts] think that that that would then preclude you from wanting to get in and add yet another uh African-American into the race to further splinter the vote? In other words, if she does declare for Congressional District 20, would that pretty much end any thoughts that you had about running in that district?

[00:10:53]Well, it just depends on how the community moves. Maybe the black community gets together and we decide who the best candidate is. We might decide it's Rosalind Osgood. We might decide it's Dale Holness. We might decide it's one of the other candidates.

[00:11:08]But, those are all options.

[00:11:11]We're trying to continue to be in partnership with Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz. We don't want it to be her legacy that she remains in Congress by disenfranchising the black community.