Longtime Democratic leader Debbie Wasserman Schultz was declared the victor in the controversial primary race for Florida’s 20th Congressional District. The former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee announced she would run in the 20th District after being redistricted out of her previous seat.
“The voters of this district deserve a representative who shares their daily life and will fight for them — not another outsider who parachuted into the race when it became convenient,” Schultz stated.
The issue immediately drew criticism from Democrats, who wanted to see the historically black district represented by a Black person. An official statement from nearly all DNC members in Florida read: “Our party cannot credibly denounce the dismantling of black political power by Republicans while treating one of Florida’s few remaining majority-black districts as a political opportunity for an incumbent seeking a safer seat.”
Despite the backlash, Wasserman Schultz easily won the primary Tuesday and will go on to face Florida Republican Brent Andersen in the general election.
