Democratic Rep.Debbie Wasserman Schultz has won her party’s nomination for re-election, NBC News projects, while two Republican House candidates backed by President Donald Trump lost their primary bids in Florida on Tuesday.
Republican Gov.Ron DeSantis and other party leaders redrew Wasserman Schultz’s current district and three other Democratic seats into four new GOP-leaning districts the party is hoping to flip in November.The move prompted Wasserman Schultz, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, to run in the state’s 20th District, which has long been represented by Black Democrats and is vacant because former Rep.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned after being indicted and accused of stealing millions in Covid relief.She has denied wrongdoing.Wasserman Schultz’s decision sparked some frustration among Black Democrats.
Cherfilus-McCormick ran again for the seat, and the other candidates were all Black Democrats: activist Elijah Manley, who was backed by Rep.Ro Khanna; former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness; and Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, the hip hop star and former 2 Live Crew band member.
But ultimately, Wasserman Schultz bested the crowded field and avoided adding her name to the list of incumbents who’ve lost their re-elections this year.Her Democratic colleague, Rep.
Jared Moskowitz, also won his primary in the battleground 25th District, brushing aside a challenge from the left by Oliver Larkin, a former union organizer and democratic socialist.But Republican Rep.
Cory Mills fell short.Former television journalist Ryan Elijah defeated the incumbent in the state’s 7th District, as Mills came into the race wounded by a slew of controversies, including a House Ethics Committee probe into sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations and a Justice Department investigation, NBC News previously reported.
Mills has denied wrongdoing.Mills lost despite getting Trump’s support earlier in his campaign.Meanwhile, Repu...