Progressive Democratic congressional candidate Elijah Manley on Monday sharply criticized Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), accusing the longtime incumbent of attempting to “take away black representation” by entering the race for Florida’s majority-Black 20th Congressional District.
Wasserman Schultz, a former Democratic National Committee chair who has served in Congress since 2005, is the only white contender in the 20th District Democratic primary. She faces four Black candidates in Tuesday’s contest, including Manley.
“I think it’s cynical for the congresswoman to carpetbag into a district and try to take away black representation in a split field,” Manley, who describes himself as a “Democratic socialist,” told CNN in an interview.
Wasserman Schultz, 59, chose to seek the 20th District seat after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis advanced a new congressional map earlier this year that reshaped both her current district, Florida’s 25th, and the district where she resides, Florida’s 22nd, making them more favorable to Republicans.
The Democratic primary for the heavily blue Southeast Florida seat has drawn a crowded and high-profile field. Along with Manley and Wasserman Schultz, candidates include indicted former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, 2 Live Crew rapper Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell and former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness.
Manley is not alone in objecting to Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run for the open seat.
“For her to come in like this is just another Broward seat, it’s a complete erasure of our history, our fight for Black access,” Cherfilus-McCormick told the Associated Press. Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from the seat in April while facing a federal indictment and an ethics investigation tied to allegations that she used $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds for political campaigns and luxury purchases.
Wasserman Schultz, who has the strongest fundraising operation in the deep-blue district, has argued that she is fully prepared to represent a constituency that is predominantly Black and Hispanic.
“I’m not air dropping myself into this district,” she told the Associated Press. “I have represented diverse communities. I know how to tailor my service to them and represent a district more broadly.”
