Democrats: Racist Republicans want to replace black legislators with whites! It's the new Jim Crow!
Also Democrats: Vote for Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida's remaining majority-minority district!
Ron DeSantis' redistricting map will force Democrats into some uncomfortable choices, but perhaps none as embarrassing as the emerging primary in FL-20. That seat has been vacant since Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned ahead of an expulsion vote over her alleged embezzlement of $5 million in COVID relief funds, which went into her first campaign for Congress. Cherfilus-McCormick wants to run to win the seat again, but another higher-profile Democrat needs to move districts to stay in the House under the new map, and ... isn't this gonna be raaaaaaacist?
Politico wonders, too, and it's hardly alone:
Five candidates are vying to be the Democratic nominee in the solidly blue congressional district, and more are considering jumping in — including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, one of the country’s most recognizable Democrats whose current path to reelection has been made more uncertain after Florida Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting. Her possible candidacy has generated vocal opposition from existing candidates — all of whom are Black — who argue that the seat was held by a Black lawmaker for more than three decades and should be represented by someone who shares their experiences.
As one may imagine, voters in the new district are unhappy with both choices:
“This is a majority Black primary electorate and a working class district that needs someone to fight for them — and they don’t have stability and representation,” said civil activist Elijah Manley, one of the candidates who has openly criticized Cherfilus-McCormick and Wasserman Schultz. “Now there’s a war to decide who will be the voice for these people. … The people here just want stability, and in order to have stability, they need someone who understands their community and what they need.”
Candidate Luther Campbell, a former 2 Live Crew member who won a landmark free-speech Supreme Court case over sexually explicit material in one of his albums, called it “ludicrous” that Cherfilus-McCormick was running again. “Focus on your case, and then if you win in your case, then this seat is always up for every two years,” he said. He also criticized Wasserman Schultz as “appalling” for considering a run, arguing she would be trying to “take a Black seat.”
“I am upset with Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I am upset with Sheila McCormick,” he said. “I’m upset with these people because they are playing with people’s lives.”
It's tough to imagine Cherfilus-McCormick gaining traction in any endeavor except in a plea deal. Wasserman Schultz, on the other hand, will bring lots of donor money and influence to bear in whichever district she chooses to maintain her place in Congress. As a former five-year DNC chair and current chair of the House Democrat Steering Committee, Wasserman Schultz has plenty of connections as well as favors to call in when needed. She's also on the Appropriations Committee, which Wasserman Schultz plans to leverage in this primary campaign:
“You can easily just phone in this job,” she said in an interview after holding a press conference in Pembroke Pines with constituents whose livelihoods were strained by high prices. She said she tries to be an “everywhere, all the time elected official” so people know her and know they can “count on me.”
“What I do is make sure that I’m a give-me-the-ball person,” she continued. “‘Give me the ball, coach, and let me run it.’ And that’s why I take on these additional responsibilities, so that I can make sure I can exponentially magnify the impact that I can help my constituents with.”
But why would Wasserman Schultz choose FL-20 as her new district? It's one of the few remaining that is a safe Democrat district, and apparently the only one in her area of Florida. Politico mentions that she could choose nearby FL-22, but that will be a much more competitive district. Voters in it may not be too fond of a former DNC chair and hardline progressive for their representative in Congress, especially given Wasserman Schultz's high profile and abrasive personality.
So ... in order to ensure her political survival, a Democrat Party leader may indeed appropriate a 'black district.' It wouldn't be the first time, either. Remember when Democrat leadership pushed Mondaire Jones out of his own precincts to salvage a seat for Sean Patrick Maloney? Good times, good times.
At least that actually fits the Jim Crow pattern – Democrats pushing black candidates out of office. If you know, you know. Just as with the hyperventilating over Tennessee's new map, which eliminates the majority-minority district held by a very white Democrat Steve Cohen, this exposes the Democrats' claims of "Jim Crow 2.0 3.0 XLVII.0" as nothing more than a bad case of projection; even if Wasserman Schultz rethinks this, just the fact that it was on the table at all is proof enough.
The only way to avoid this is to get the new map thrown out by the courts, an effort that Democrats have already begun, at least for this cycle. It faces an uphill battle in part because the previous map was drawn with racial demographics in mind, which the Supreme Court invalidated under Callais. Florida will have to draw a new map anyway, and courts will have to go out of their way to force the state to return to a map that is almost certainly unconstitutional now.
Have fun storming the castle, Rep. Wasserman Schultz. We'll just keep passing the popcorn and reminding people of this whenever Democrat Party leadership starts screaming raaaaacism for drawing maps that don't rely on race.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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