Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida, said on Friday that she planned to run for re-election in a majority-Black district under the state’s newly redrawn congressional map.
The map created four additional Republican-leaning districts in part by eliminating her South Florida seat. Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run in Florida’s new 20th Congressional District, however, has stoked tensions with Black Democrats already reeling from Republican gerrymanders across the South that are likely to dilute or eliminate Black representation in Congress.
“We cannot let Trump destroy Broward County’s power,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz, who is serving in her 11th congressional term and is a former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a video announcement.
She was referring to President Trump’s push for Republican governors and state legislatures around the country to engage in an unusual and highly partisan round of redistricting in the middle of the decade to help retain control of Congress. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican, signed the state’s aggressively partisan new map on May 4, setting off a musical-chairs-style scramble among South Florida Democrats. Two Democratic districts held by Ms. Wasserman Schultz and Representative Jared Moskowitz had been eliminated or largely redrawn.
Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run in the 20th District was not unexpected, given the limited options for her to seek re-election under the new map. But even before her announcement, she had upset some Black Democrats, who said the district deserved a Black representative. Ms. Wasserman Schultz is white.
Most of the district had been represented until recently by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned from office last month shortly before a House panel was scheduled to consider expelling her. Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick, who is Black, has been indicted on criminal charges of embezzling $5 million in federal disaster aid and using it for her campaign. She has denied the accusation and pleaded not guilty. She has also said that she is running in the 20th Congressional District, as are several other Black Democrats in addition to Ms. Wasserman Schultz.
One of them is Luther Campbell, known as Uncle Luke from 2 Live Crew, a hip-hop group from the 1980s and 1990s. Mr. Campbell, an activist, music producer and former youth and high school football coach, said last week that it was “appalling” for Ms. Wasserman Schultz to be considering a run in that district.
“I will drag her,” he told Politico. “And you know what’s going to happen? The relationship between the Jewish community and the Black community will be over at that moment.” (Ms. Wasserman Schultz is Jewish.)
In response to some of the criticism, Ms. Wasserman Schultz has said that she sees herself as a unifying figure who has a proven track record of helping diverse South Florida communities. Her announcement video included supportive clips from a number of people, including several Black activists and officials.
Ms. Wasserman Schultz could have run in Florida’s new 25th Congressional District, which extends along the South Florida coast from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach Counties. But that district is Republican-leaning, while the 20th District is safely Democratic.
And running in the 25th Congressional District would have most likely pitted Ms. Wasserman Schultz against Mr. Moskowitz, a longtime friend and ally. Mr. Moskowitz, who is serving in his second congressional term, has not formally announced where he plans to seek re-election, other than to say he intends to run in the district that overlaps with most of his current district. Only the 25th fits that description.
Several voting rights groups have sued Florida over its new map, saying it violates a ban on political gerrymandering in the state’s Constitution. They have sought a temporary injunction that would put the map on hold. A circuit judge in Tallahassee has not yet ruled on the motion.
Florida has 28 congressional districts; the new map cuts the number of Democratic-leaning districts from eight to four.
Ms. Wasserman Schultz led the national Democratic Party from 2011 to 2016. She resigned after a trove of leaked emails suggested that party officials had derided Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential primary campaign against Hillary Clinton while insisting that they were neutral in the race.
