Leader Hakeem Jeffries declines to endorse DWS in FL-20, CBC rebuffs her.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz told voters and the press that she had support from the very people whose blessing would matter most in this race: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Congressional Black Caucus. All after abandoning her own district and constituents to carpetbag into the majority-black FL-20.

Now the record is catching up with her.

Axios reported that Leader Jeffries refused to endorse Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, a rare move for a Democratic leader who normally backs incumbents. When asked directly if he supported her reelection, Jeffries said he had not made a decision “as it relates to that particular race.”

That is not an endorsement. That is not a green light. That is not the full-throated backing Debbie wanted voters to believe she had. And Jeffries did not stop there. He acknowledged what Black voters in South Florida have been saying for weeks: this moment is sensitive because there is an “unprecedented Jim Crow-like assault on Black political representation.”

That matters. Because FL-20 is not just another district on a map. It was created in 1992 under the Voting Rights Act so Black voters could finally elect a candidate of their choice after more than a century without Black representation in Congress from Florida. It sent Alcee Hastings to Washington. It was part of a historic breakthrough for Black political power in this state.

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Then Republicans came in, targeted the district, weakened Black voting power, and tried to dismantle what generations fought to build. And instead of standing with this community, Debbie saw an opportunity. As Michael Starr Hopkins wrote in The Hill yesterday: “Then Wasserman Schultz looked at the wreckage and decided to loot it. She used a Republican attack on Black voting power as her personal staircase to a safer seat. She is not a victim of the gerrymander but a beneficiary.”

She does not live in FL-20. Only a small portion of her old district (5%) was drawn into FL-20. She had other options. She could have fought Republicans in a tougher district, one she was equiped to tackle. She could have stood with Black voters against DeSantis’ attack. Instead, she chose the safest Democratic seat available, a historically Black opportunity district, and called it leadership. Now she’s dividing the party and potentially hurting our top of ticket and down-ballot Democrats in November.

Wasserman Schultz told the press that the Congressional Black Caucus and Hakeem Jeffries met with her and encouraged her to run. But Rep. Yvette Clarke, the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus made clear that the caucus did not encourage Debbie Wasserman Schultz to run in this district. “I had a conversation with her, and encouragement was not part of that conversation. I was essentially informed that Debbie wanted to run for that seat.”

So let’s be clear: Debbie tried to manufacture black support. She tried to make it seem like Black leadership was behind her decision. It was not. She tried to make it seem like Democratic leadership had blessed her campaign. They had not. She tried to make it seem like the criticism was just coming from candidates already in the race. But Florida DNC members, Black elected officials, the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, the Broward Democratic Black Caucus, NAACP leaders, and community voices across this district have all sounded the alarm.

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This is bigger than one politician. This is about whether Democrats will defend Black representation only when Republicans attack it, or whether we will defend it when powerful Democrats try to benefit from that attack. Because you cannot denounce DeSantis for dismantling Black political power and then reward Debbie Wasserman Schultz for moving into the seat DeSantis weakened. You cannot claim to believe representation matters and then tell Black voters to move aside because an incumbent with seniority wants a safer district.

You cannot say you are an ally to the Black community while ignoring the Black community when it says: do not do this. That is the central issue in this race. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wants voters to believe this is about experience. But experience is not a permission slip to disregard a community’s voice. Seniority is not a substitute for lived experience. Washington clout does not give anyone the right to treat FL-20 like a fallback option.

This district deserves a representative who understands its people, its history, its pain, its promise, and its fight. It deserves someone who knows what it means to grow up here. Someone who has lived the struggles working families face. Someone who is not running here because the district is convenient, but because this community is home.

I am running for Congress because FL-20 deserves a fighter who is accountable to the people, not the establishment, not political insiders, and not anyone trying to parachute into our district after Republicans attacked Black representation.

We are going to protect our voice. Stand with me by donating to the campaign today, and elevating this message above and beyond.

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