South Florida’s scrambled congressional races are locked in. Here’s what to know:
The ballots for the Aug. 18 primary are locked in after Florida’s candidate qualifying deadline came and went Friday — setting the stage for 10 weeks of intra-party battles in South Florida’s safe blue Democratic seats, and wide-open Republican primaries in two newly drawn districts that favor the GOP.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new congressional maps knocked out two of Florida’s previous five Democratic strongholds in South Florida, leaving incumbents scrambling on the decision on where to run.
Here’s what you need to know about how the races had shaken out by the end of the day Friday.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz disregards criticism
Longtime Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is staying in the race to represent a historically Black Broward County congressional district — even after a public admonishment from state party Chair Nikki Fried.
Black political leaders had been sounding alarms for weeks about Wasserman Schultz’s plan to run in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, accusing her of trying to save her own political future at the expense of supporting Black political representation in a district initially created under the Voting Rights Act but targeted by DeSantis for redistricting. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries twice declined to endorse her run in the district in recent days, even though she’s part of his leadership team.
“I’m thankful for all the strong public support I have received from voters and community leaders all across CD20 as I make my case that I can most effectively represent this whole community. As always, I’m not taking any support for granted,” she said in a statement to the Miami Herald this week.
READ MORE: Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried ‘disappointed’ in Wasserman Schultz
Four Black Democratic candidates are also staying in the race, after plans to coalesce behind one candidate fell apart this week. Candidates Luther Campbell, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Dale Holness and Elijah Manley met for almost four hours Monday and emerged with a majority consensus to consolidate behind one candidate to increase the chances of defeating Wasserman Schultz in the primary.
There was no decision on who that candidate should be, however, and by Friday all four had decided to remain on the August ballot.
“I’m not going to sit here and wait because every single day that we waste bringing attention to this is a day that we’re wasting communicating with voters what we’re going to do for them and Debbie is winning because of that,” Manley told the Herald after he filed to qualify for the race.
The criticism of Wasserman Schultz’ decision won’t be going away anytime soon.
“This is our district. It was created for us to have a voice in Congress after centuries of slavery, apartheid and Jim Crow, and they had to forcibly create a district for us in 1992,” Manley said. “Now some white Democrat is going to carpet-bag in here and take it away without a reason?”
National eyes on this coastal district primary
Both national Democratic and Republican fundraising groups are planning to pour resources into trying to win the new coastal 25th District stretching from Delray Beach to Miami Beach in November. It’s one of the previous safe Democratic seats DeSantis redrew in a way that favors Republicans.
Democrats see it as one of the seats across the country they need to defend to regain control of the U.S. House. Thanks to DeSantis, Republicans see it as a prime pick-up opportunity to ensure they can keep greenlighting Trump’s agenda the rest of his presidential term.
Incumbent Jared Moskowitz, whose district was splintered by redistricting, is being challenged by progressive candidate Oliver Larkin in the August primary. Five Republicans qualified for the Republican ballot, including former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer and former state Rep. George Moraitis.
Who will carry the legacy of Frederica Wilson?
Frederica Wilson sparked a mad dash to Florida’s 24th District when she announced her plans last month not to run again after a 15-year run in Congress. Safe, blue Democratic seats are rare in Florida, and incumbents usually hold on to them for years. Wilson’s departure opens an opportunity for politicians looking to jump into federal office.
State Sen. Shevrin Jones, County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, former County Commissioner Jean Monestime and physician Rudolph Moise had already announced plans to run and qualified for the ballot this week.
READ MORE: Prayers and politics: Campaigns to succeed Rep. Wilson launch from the pulpit
But a surprise late-entry in the race came Wednesday after Kendrick Meek Jr. filed to run for the seat his father and grandmother once held. He will formally announce “his plans to carry forward a powerful family legacy of public service” during a launch event Friday, according to his campaign.
Meek enters the race with valuable name recognition in an election cycle where candidates only have a couple of months to pitch themselves to voters. Gilbert and Jones have already been lining up high-profile endorsements, but the likely loudest voice in the district — Frederica Wilson — hasn’t weighed in yet.
Just before Friday’s candidate qualifying deadline, another high-profile name entered the race bringing the total number of Democratic candidates to seven. The Miami arts icon and longtime director and namesake of the Marshal L. Davis African Heritage Cultural Arts Center is also now running to succeed Wilson, promising to bring “artistic and creative thought” into politics.
Only one Democratic primary across three Miami districts
Two Democrats are vying to convince Democratic voters they’re the best pick to flip the Miami district held by Rep. María Elvira Salazar. Former prosecutor Robin Peguero has been campaigning over the last year for the Democratic nomination and will be competing against former CBS Miami news anchor Eliott Rodriguez.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will be closely watching the primary as they gear up to target Salazar in November. Florida’s 27th District is one of a small handful of seats in Florida they see as part of their pathway to winning back the House.
Despite DeSantis redrawing Florida’s 26th District, represented by Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, in a way that makes it somewhat more competitive for Democrats, no high-profile Democratic candidate jumped into that race. Progressive candidate Nicole Locklin is the only Democrat to qualify, so she’s heading straight to the November ballot.
Former U.S. Senate candidate turned House candidate Hector Mujica dropped his bid to run against Rep. Carlos Giménez in Florida’s 28th District after a party switch last year made him ineligible, according to reporting by Florida Politics. Repeat candidate Phil Ehr will now be on the November ballot against Giménez.
The giant new district from Broward to Naples is a wild card
Wasserman Schultz’s critics urged her to run in the sprawling district she now lives in extending from Broward County across the state to Naples. About 55% of voters in that newly drawn district voted for Donald Trump in 2024, but Democrats predicting a wave of backlash to his policies in November still see it as a winnable seat.
However, without a well-funded incumbent like Wasserman-Schultz, those chances are smaller. Two Democrats qualified for the ballot, Pia Dandiya and Kaysia Earley.
On the Republican side, seven candidates will be on the ballot. None have held high-profile public office before, but self-funded businessmen Casey Askar and Michael Carbonara both have personal funds to dump into the race.
The deadline to register to vote in the August primaries is July 20.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 3:01 PM.
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