Politics are just funkier in Florida.
So far, most of the attention in the Florida midterm saga has focused on the messy, messy mess in Florida’s 20th congressional district, where a white, sitting congresswoman: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is being accused of trying to carpetbag her way into what’s left of an historic, Black Opportunity District once made possible by the Supreme Court-gutted Voting Rights Act. Such is life in the freshly regerrymandered South. The race has been nasty — with accusations flying, and the possibility of Wasserman -Schultz prevailing in an overcrowded field that includes a potentially indicted sitting Congresswoman fighting for her seat, a hip-hop legend who once went to the Supreme Court to defend salty lyrics, a young progressive who once battled homelessness, and the mayor of Broward County. But it’s not the only funk in town.
In a state where politics zigzags between strange and disappointing, there’s also the Republican gubernatorial primary, where the Clarence Thomas of Florida, Byron Donalds, is battling a bevy of white right wingers — including an accused racist who derides Byron as a DEI hire — for the right to be patted on the head again, but this time by Donald Trump himself.
But, friends, the ugliest race in Florida is Southeast of District 20, in the 24th congressional district in Miami-Dade County; the VRA opportunity district once represented by the legendary congresswoman Carrie P. Meek, and then by her son Kendrick Meek. Former State Senator Frederica Wilson has represented the district for eight terms, and in May, the 83-year-old announced that she was retiring. That announcement set off a scramble for succession that has landed in the ugliest of ways in the phones of an unknown number of District residents.
Equality Florida is raising the alarm about an ugly text message that was allegedly distributed to voters in the 24th referencing out-going State Senator Shevrin Jones, the current front-runner in the primary, per the latest polls.
Needless to say, the fake text drew immediate outrage; not just for the lies in it, but for falsely using the LGBTQ rights group’s name to smear the state senator (a misuse that as the organization pointed out, likely constitutes a crime). It was even more outrageous, given that the group endorsed Jones back in July.
From Equality Florida’s response:
Miami, Fla. – In a stunning development in the race for Florida’s 24th Congressional District, a fraudulent ad attacking Senator Shevrin Jones was sent to voters that preys on HIV and anti-gay stigma and is falsely attributed to Equality Florida. The fabricated attribution is a gross violation of federal election law, and the link provided in the ad does not correspond with a story from CBS. Equality Florida Action, Inc. proudly endorsed Shevrin on August 3 and has been unwavering in its commitment to sending this champion of the community to Congress.
“This is a disgusting attack against a public servant who has poured his heart and soul into his community. We can all see it for what it is: a desperate attempt by a shady, dark money group supporting one of Shev’s opponents that traffics in ugly tropes, misrepresents a trusted statewide organization, and weaponizes a Black man’s identity,” said Brandon Wolf, spokesperson for Equality Florida.
“Shevrin Jones is a champion, history maker, and, when we send him to Congress, he will be a powerful voice at the highest levels of government. To those who broke the law by fabricating this ad: you will face accountability. To Shevrin’s opponents: your willingness or unwillingness to denounce this smear tactic today will tell us all we need to know about who you are. And to the voters faced with a choice next week: the best way to combat this dirty, illegal smear campaign is to send an unmistakable message with your ballot. With your vote, tell the dark money fraudsters that power still belongs to the people.”
So here’s the sequence of events, according to two Florida sources.
How it started
Back in May, the same month that Rep. Wilson announced that she would retire from congress after eight terms, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis signed his and his Republican supermajority’s racist Scalia map, gerrymandering the state in direct contravention to the state’s constitutional amendment mandating fair districts. The racist gerrymander threw several Democratic districts into disarray, reducing the number of likely Democratic seats from eight to four.
That’s when Wasserman Schultz announced that rather than run for re-election in her shifted district, she would switch to the historically Black 20th. And that set off a veritable civil war inside the Democratic Party, with the Congressional Black Caucus declining to support Wasserman Schultz but not condemning her by name, either. Rep. Wilson came close, writing a July 7 op-ed in the historically Black Miami Times, walking readers through the history of the 20th Congressional District and saying it should continue to be represented by a Black political leader. It was a slap at her House colleague without referring to her by name.
You should also be aware that Jones had waited to announce for the seat until Wilson, with whom he has a long professional relationship, made her retirement announcement out of respect for her, but in a surprise, Wilson endorsed someone else to succeed her: former Miami Gardens mayor and current Miami Dade County commissioner, Oliver Gilbert.
On August 6th, an op-ed by Brian C. Johnson, the former vice mayor of the City of West Park, Florida, who lives in Congressional District 24, was posted on a site called the MIA Media Group referring to Frederica Wilson’s Johnson’s op-ed was titled: “District 24 voters need to follow Congresswoman Wilson’s standards, not her torch.
Here’s how the article began:
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson recently wrote an opinion column about “the congressional seat that Black history built.” Surprisingly, she wasn’t describing her own seat — Florida’s 24th District, which she is leaving after 16 years of admirable service — but Florida’s 20th District in Broward County. Voters in both districts will choose new representatives in the August 18 primary.
And while her instructive insights were geared towards District 20, those same
standards outlined by Wilson must be applied to District 24. Paraphrasing her words, a seat like this is a trust, earned through struggle, that voters must actively honor, protect, and grant only to candidates with character that is fitting and commitment that is for us.
Many of us who know all seven candidates well believe Shevrin Jones is not only the better person, but the better choice to represent Florida’s 24th District in Congress. Voters must embrace that truth and act on it: cast a ballot that honors and protects this district. It was built by Black history, as Congresswoman Wilson reminded us — and it must remain a catalyst for Black progress, not just a monument to it. Although Wilson has endorsed another candidate, by her own high standards, Shevrin should be the clear choice. Shevrin is the logical next successor.
Cue a counter op-ed by Miami-Dade County attorney; former general counsel of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee; and former chair of the Miami-Dade County Black Affairs Advisory Board Stephen Hunter Johnson, who wrote an op-ed also posted to Mia Media Group endorsing Gilbert:
Elections are too often reduced to personality, slogans and promises. But the choice before voters in Florida’s 24th Congressional District should be judged by a more demanding standard: Who has the clearest vision — and the demonstrated ability to turn that vision into measurable results?
By that standard, Oliver Gilbert is the clear choice for Congress.
He also used his oped to specifically, and in multiple paragraphs, attack Shevrin Jones:
Elections sometimes force us to compare friends with friends.
Sen. Shevrin Jones is a good man who has served his constituents and championed important causes. As a state senator, he has operated in a political environment shaped by Gov. Ron DeSantis and a Republican-controlled Legislature that have advanced policies Jones strongly opposes.
Jones has distinguished himself as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. He stood with state Rep. Anna Eskamani in opposition to restrictions on gender-affirming care and delivered an emotional speech on the Senate floor during the 2022 debate over legislation critics labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
What I wish I could say is that his advocacy for Black Floridians has always been equally forceful.
When Debbie Wasserman Schultz entered the race for Florida’s 20th Congressional District, Jones issued a statement that praised her before criticizing her decision to enter the contest. When state Sen. Jason Pizzo delivered remarks on the Senate floor that I considered deeply offensive to the Black community during debate involving the same water surcharges Gilbert had fought, Jones remained quiet.
And when Jones, as chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee, acknowledged that Black neighborhoods across the county had little to no Democratic signage ahead of an election, he recognized the problem but, in my view, failed to adequately correct it.
The central question is not whether Jones has served people or done meaningful work. He has done both.
The question is: Who has done more with the talent, authority and public trust entrusted to him?
On that question, I believe the contrast is unmistakable.
Not long after that post went live, according to a South Florida source, the offending mass text went out. It’s not clear how widely it was distributed or how many voters actually saw it, but Equality Florida’s leadership did, and hit the roof.
The text “ad,” which also linked to an old CBS News story quoting Jones as stating that he was denied the opportunity to give blood due to his sexuality (not do to any illness) also drew condemnation from Miami Dade Mayor Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who called the fake ad “cowardly, cruel and dishonest, while expressing her support for her friend, Jones.
“The homophobic text messages targeting State Senator Shevrin Jones are cowardly, dishonest, and have no place in our political discourse. Using someone's private life and identity as a weapon isn't just cruel — it's a deliberate attempt to distract voters from the real issues facing our community," she wrote. "Shev Jones has spent his career serving South Florida with integrity, and no smear campaign changes that. Miami-Dade is home to a proud and diverse LGBTQ+ community, and attacks like this one don't reflect who we are. I will always be proud of my friend Shevrin Jones, and I call on whoever is behind this campaign to be identified and held accountable. Voters deserve honest campaigns focused on the issues — not fear and hate."
Jones himself reacted to the fake text:
“I was like, ‘wow,’” Jones said. “Now that’s low.” …
“First, the message is false,” said Jones. “I am not HIV positive, but I want to be very careful about how I respond to that, because I refuse to defend myself in a way that stigmatizes somebody else.”
Elijah Manley (running in the OTHER heated congressional primary) took to social media to condemn the fake ad:
And Oliver Gilbert, who is polling second in the CD 24 race, also condemned the text, first in a lengthy social media post:
And then in a shorter post, after the original one was apparently deleted:
Despite that, the Florida streets, including HIV activist Michael Rajner, blamed Gilbert’s camp. Rajner went live on Facebook and implied that Gilbert’s supporters were likely behind it. And he tied the attack to a previous incident in which a local official questioned Black clergy for supporting Jones, who is openly gay.
That prompted praise and a repost on social media, as the story went Florida viral.
And while Internet sleuths are trying to trace the phone number on that text message to try to track down the sender, Gilbert explicitly denied responsibility for the smear campaign when I spoke with him Wednesday and insisted he has no idea who sent it.
“I made my statement, he said. “I can only say that I would never do something like this especially to Shevrin, who is a friend.”
#Florida.
Meanwhile, in case you missed it, Uncle Luke is alleging some truly shady doings in Florida 20, involving a dread, some vulnerable seniors, and possibly a connection to the carpetbagger… (allegedly…)
Funky has no pity for the Haitian businessman who voted for Trump
Meanwhile, speaking of Funky … YouTube star and culture critic Funky Dineva, real name Quentin Latham, has a few thoughts for the Haitian-American Florida businessman who voted for Trump, and now he’s losing his business because his workers are scared to come to work, fearing Trump’s deportation squads:
One day, these folks will learn that you will never be an “us” in the “us and them” game. MAGAism is racism. Wake up, people!
If you haven’t voted in Florida, what are you waiting for?
Early voting info here.
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