Florida District 20 candidates' plan to consolidate Black vote falls apart after filing deadline

A plan to avoid splitting the Black vote in Florida's District 20 by narrowing the field of candidates has fallen apart.

Luther Campbell, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Dale Holness, and Elijah Manley had discussed one or two of them bowing out of the race but could not decide who that should be by the filing deadline. The strategy was an effort to prevent an easy path to victory for U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the August primary.

Wasserman Schultz is running in District 20, which has been led by a Black lawmaker for 34 years, after her current district was drawn off the map by Republican-led redistricting.

In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned from the seat amid a congressional ethics investigation, said she is "excited to campaign in the district I have represented for the last 5 years, where we've fought together, and continue to get overwhelming support for my reelection".

Holness said, "So we are off to the races. It has to be about policies that produce prosperity for the people".

"I don't think it's going to come down to Black or White," Manley said. "I think it's going to come down to who works the hardest, and I think I'm going to work the hardest".

Announcing his qualification to run, Campbell's campaign said he is "focused on delivering results for working families throughout Broward County".

Wasserman Schultz also released a statement announcing her qualification for the ballot. It reads in part, "That's why I'm running: to deliver resources to the people of Broward who know and trust me and want me to keep up this critical fight for our families against Trump's high-cost, corrupt agenda".

The primary election is on August 18.