Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried is the latest in a chorus of voices criticizing U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the unfolding backlash to her decision to seek reelection in a Black plurality district after Republicans redrew Florida’s congressional map.

“I am disappointed by the congresswoman’s refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue about her decision, especially after our democratic ecosystem coordinated so closely to stop Republican redistricting,” Fried told the Miami Herald in a statement Wednesday, marking her first public comments on the situation.

She added that the party’s bylaws require her to remain neutral in Democratic primary races, but said it “does not require silence about our values. We will keep fighting for the maps, the seats, and the process that reflect every Black Floridian’s voice.”

Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat whose own district was split into five last month by the Florida Legislature, qualified Tuesday in the race for Florida’s 20th District, which was initially created to ensure Black voters’ political representation. The district was targeted by Gov. Ron DeSantis in light of a Supreme Court ruling changing how states could interpret the federal Voting Rights Act.

Her decision came despite condemnation from a group of Florida Democratic National Committee members and pleading from the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida to run in the newly drawn, Republican-leaning district where she lives. U.S. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has also twice declined to endorse her, even though she’s part of his leadership team.

Fried’s statement to the Herald comes amid warnings from a growing chorus of political leaders that Wasserman Schultz’s decision — and the state party’s silence about it — could have ripple effects across the ballot in November.

“The silence hurts. Debbie running hurts. The reaction of some so-called allies to tell us we ought to be mad at DeSantis and not Debbie hurts,” Florida DNC member Sean Shaw told the Herald. “And that hurt is going to have electoral consequences, unfortunately.”

Shaw said frustration with the situation would be particularly acute among Black voters who already felt the party was taking their votes for granted without showing up for them in kind.

“Any bridge can be rebuilt, but it’s burning,” Shaw said. “We all notice it and we all see it, and we can all hear the silence — when this party, our party’s electoral success is built on the backs of Black people.”

In a statement, Wasserman Schultz thanked “all the strong public support I have received from voters and community leaders” across the district and nodded to her belief that she “can most effectively represent this whole community.”

“As always, I’m not taking any support for granted,” she said. “What voters are sharing is that they know me and know how effective I am in Congress.”

Behind the scenes talks

Former Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned the seat in April rather than face a congressional ethics inquiry, said that she’s concerned Black voters will register as no-party affiliated or are “not going to come out and vote in general” if they don’t see the party fighting for them.

“No one has commented on what Debbie’s saying,” Cherfilus-McCormick, who’s also running in the 20th District, said. “They’re just being silent, pretending it’s not happening, and that’s the part where the entire community is feeling alienated.”

Fried issued her statement to the Herald in response to questions about frustrations with the party’s silence on Wasserman Schultz’s run.

Fried had been working behind the scenes in recent days to facilitate a dialogue between Black political leaders in Florida and Wasserman Schultz’s campaign, but those efforts fell apart after the congresswoman’s campaign refused their invitation, according to the party.

Wasserman Schultz’s campaign did not respond directly to questions about that proposed meeting. She said in a statement, “There’s a reason DeSantis and Trump targeted one of Broward’s most tenacious fighters. They know I’ll never back down from taking on their cruel MAGA agenda.”

Elijah Manley, who qualified Wednesday to run in the district and has been lobbying other Black candidates to consolidate behind him to beat Wasserman Schultz, praised Fried’s behind-the-scenes efforts. But he said that more white elected officials in South Florida should have been clear they wouldn’t support Wasserman-Schultz’s run.

“She has been a great ambassador. I actually applaud Nikki Fried for being part of this conversation and listening. To me, there are a lot of officials who have remained silent,” Manley said, adding that at the end of the day “the harm that is going to happen to this party is because of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.”

Former Senate and House Democratic Leader Chris Smith said the party had been navigating a complicated landscape in responding to Wasserman Schultz’s actions.

“This was a decision made by a congresswoman and, you know, the chips will fall where they fall,” he said. “But as for the party, I would just get afraid of the dangerous precedent it would set if the party was to step in and tell anybody you can’t run for this seat or you can’t do that.”

Widespread backlash

The controversy over Wasserman Schultz comes as states across the South have drawn out Black-majority seats, using the Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais as a green light to drop the historical interpretation of the federal Voting Rights Act that required states to draw districts to ensure minority voters have the equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice as white voters.

As a result, the Congressional Black Caucus could lose up to 30% of its membership over the next two election cycles, according to an analysis by Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter.

If Wasserman Schultz wins, it would be the first time in 30 years that the district has not had Black congressional leadership.

The 20th District “remains one of the clearest examples of why Black political representation still matters in Florida today. This district was not handed to us. It was fought for,” the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida wrote in a statement last week.

They asked Wasserman Schultz to run in the 22nd District, where it’s unlikely a non-incumbent Democrat could raise enough funds and name recognition to win.

“This is not about political convenience. This is about political responsibility,” the caucus wrote.

Caucus President Armando Grundy-Gomes said Tuesday that the party’s not-yet-public response in recent days had been “confusing,” but that “this is about Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Nobody’s held a gun to her head to run.”

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(Miami Herald staff writer Raisa Habersham contributed to this report.)

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