In the spring, the big news concerning Florida’s 20th Congressional District was the announcement from Luther Campbell (more popularly known as Uncle Luke from the rap group 2 Live Crew) that he would be challenging embattled Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in a Democratic primary. But after the incumbent resigned under indictment (it should be noted that she is running again in the primary), and the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling gave Florida Republicans permission to redraw district lines to benefit  their party, the biggest news is the decision by Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a white woman, to run in the state’s only plurality-Black district. Her candidacy there highlights the tensions between descriptive and substantive representation and the strategic risks that emerge when a large field of candidates run for the same seat.

After the Callais ruling, Florida redistributed Black voters out of the original 20th District and put 22-year incumbent Wasserman Schultz, who represented the nearby 23rd District, into a mostly Republican district. The Constitution only requires members of Congress to live in the state (not the district) they will represent, so Wasserman Schultz chose to run in Florida’s 20th District against multiple Black candidates, including Campbell, former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness and progressive favorite Elijah Manley.

Political scientist David Mayhew noted decades ago that members of Congress are almost single-mindedly focused on winning re-election, so it is not surprising that Wasserman Schultz would choose to run in a district more favorable for her politically than the redrawn district where she lives.

However, some Black leaders in the district are decrying Wasserman Schultz’s decision and have argued she should not run in a congressional district that has been represented by a Black member for more than 30 years. While I am sympathetic to those concerns about descriptive representation — that is, a representative sharing the same background as a majority or plurality of voters — there are other factors to consider.  Wasserman Schultz benefits from name recognition and, as a former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, has deep party connections. In Tuesday’s election, she also stands to benefit from a Black vote that will likely be fractured.  Even if all the district’s Black voters supported someone other than Wasserman Schultz for the nomination — that is, if they split their votes across Black candidates —  she could still win with a plurality of the vote.

This is not unprecedented. In 2006, when Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., gave up his seat in that state’s 9th Congressional District to run for the Senate, 15 Democrats ran to replace him. A white candidate, Steve Cohen, emerged as the victor. Cohen has held the seat since then. (The Tennessee Legislature redrew its state’s map this spring, too, making the district Cohen represents another casualty of the Callais ruling.) Similarly, in 2022, in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, Indian American businessman Shri Thanedar beat eight Black candidates to win the Democratic nomination for the seat.  Thanedar won two terms in Congress but lost to a Black, Democratic socialist candidate, state Rep. Donavan McKinney, in this month’s Democratic primary.

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Swalwell and Gonzales resign, Mills and Cherfilus-McCormick face possible expulsions April 14, 2026 / 10:54

There are lessons for people on both sides of this debate about descriptive representation. If Black communities want to prioritize descriptive representation, or electing Black legislators in districts where Black people make up at least a plurality of the voters, then those communities and their leaders may need to have hard conversations before the primaries about which aspirants are the most viable, and less viable candidates should consider dropping out of such elections. If these conversations do not happen, and multiple candidates run who appeal to the same constituents, then they have to accept the risk that other candidates may be able to forge ahead in a divided vote.

There are also important admonitions for the candidates of other backgrounds who sometimes win in these districts.  While most Black voters in Broward County would probably prefer any Democrat to a Republican, there is evidence that white members of Congress who represent Black districts represent those constituencies differently than Black legislators. Christian Grose of the University of Southern California compared Black and white members of Congress representing the same districts and found that Black legislators were more likely to set up district offices closer to Black communities than their white predecessors. He also found that Black legislators delivered more pork barrel spending to their districts and provided better constituent services.

Should she win the nomination and the general election, the onus will be on Wasserman Schultz to reach out to her new constituents. She already touts her engagement with African American and Afro-Caribbean voters in the district. That should not stop if she wins the primary and the general election — in fact, she should increase such engagement to reassure Black voters that she is sensitive to the concerns about the loss of descriptive representation. Simple steps like moving her district office, fighting for federal funding in the district, and increasing the number of bills that she cosponsors with Congressional Black Caucus members could go a long way to helping her forge strong relationships with new constituents. And while it is not constitutionally required, if she wins, perhaps she can relocate to the district. All of these would demonstrate good faith.

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