Florida District 20's Black leaders weigh unity candidate to block Wasserman Schultz in August primary: "We're working towards it"

Only CBS News Miami was there for a high-stakes meeting about who should run in the August primary for Florida's 20th congressional district.

Asked whether a decision had been made, candidate Dale Holness said, "We're working towards it."

The four Black candidates have discussed coalescing around one or two of them to avoid splitting the Black vote.

They argue splitting the vote would create a path to victory for Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in a majority Black district that has been led by Black lawmakers for 34 years.

Wasserman-Schultz decided to run in District 20 after her district was drawn off the map by GOP-led redistricting.

Candidate Elijah Manley spoke after the meeting.

"The majority of the people agree on one thing ... keeping the seat represented by someone with our lived experience," he said.

CBS News Miami reached out to the Wasserman-Schultz campaign but did not immediately hear back.

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned from representing the district amid a congressional ethics probe, is running again and was part of the meeting.

"The bigger issue is the community feels like they are busing pushed out. The community feels ignored not just by the party, but elected officials who haven't spoken about it," she said.

The deadline to decide who will be in and who will be out is Friday, June 12.  But the group says a decision could happen as early as tomorrow.