Debate has raged in South Florida’s Black community, often peppered with aggrievement and hostility, about where U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz should run.

After Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map dismantled her District, on his way to potentially cutting Florida’s Democratic contingent in Congress in half, questions immediately arose. Would the longest serving Democrat run in the remnants of a once-Black majority seat most recently represented by indicted ex-U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick? Or would she run in a coast-to-coast District where a majority of voters in 2024 voted for Donald Trump as President?

Wasserman Schultz announced a decision on Friday. She will run in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, entering a crowded Democratic Primary that includes Cherfilus-McCormick and five other Black Democrats, but should be a safe blue seat in November. Within hours of the announcement, she spoke to Florida Politics about her choice and the support she has already heard from Black voters in the Broward County seat.

Florida Politics: What was your most important consideration with this decision?

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz: The most important thing was where and whether I could best represent the people of Broward County and ensure that Ron DeSantis isn’t able to dismantle and take apart Broward County’s clout and power. Making sure that I would run in the place where I could make the most difference and have the most impact, that was critical in my decision. They chopped and put good chunks of my District in five different congressional districts, including in this one. I represent a majority-minority District now, and I know how to represent diverse communities. I take steps to ensure that people know that I have their back. I learned Spanish when I didn’t know a word of it, because my District currently is 42% Hispanic, and that’s because I have seniors who are more comfortable in Spanish very often. I’m the kind of member of Congress that shows up that has people’s back, and that most people know that they can count on.

FP: A lot of Black leaders, including several of your opponents, are very upset at the national effort to dismantle black representation in the South…

DWS: As am I.

FP: Many of them say your running is effectively doing the same thing as these new maps— trying to diminish Black standing. How do you respond?

DWS: Well, yeah, it’s not surprising that the candidates running in this District would be saying that. But that’s why I took the time over the last several weeks since the map became law to really reach out all across the District to have substantive conversations, take my time to be able to get insights and feedback from folks I spoke to, well over 100 people. I’ve been out in the community talking to hundreds more, and the overwhelming sentiment that I got from people is that they know how important it is that someone have the seniority and the tenure and the clout in Congress to be able to get things done, and that we can’t start over with beginners who will just be first trying to figure things out, that we have to have somebody who is going to not just hit the ground running but continue to run on the ground to get things done for this District. Also, this District has been through a lot in the last few years. When (former U.S. Rep.) Alcee Hastings, who was a dear friend and a real mentor to me, when he passed away, Ron DeSantis left this District unrepresented for 10 months. That was so cynical and disrespectful. Then, it had a cloud over its head for several years after that, and now, with the resignation, with it being open, he will likely leave it open all the way until next January. It’s going to be more important than ever that this District is represented by someone who has the clout and the seniority and the ability to accomplish things quickly and immediately, as I have for Broward County for my whole career. The fact that I am on the leadership team for Leader (Hakeem) Jeffries, I co-chair the Steering and Policy Committee, I’m a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I’m the ranking member of an Appropriations Subcommittee, I’m the senior Democrat in the congressional delegation— it’s not just that I’ve been in Congress a long time. It’s that the positions that I hold make me exponentially more impactful, and this District needs the fighter that I am. People know me in this District, I know them, and they know that I will show up and have their back.

FP: How important is it that the Representative for this District not be somebody facing federal charges?

DWS: What’s important in this District is that they have someone who has the clout, seniority, and the experience to be able to fight for them and stand up for them, push back in the face of the culture of corruption that has been created and that has ballooned exponentially under President Trump, to fight the extremism and, most importantly, to have a champion who is going to truly fight to make their life more help make their life more affordable to bring down the cost of groceries and utilities and housing and healthcare and so much else.

FP: Are you concerned this is leaving Florida’s 22nd Congressional District at risk? That’s where your home community of Weston is, and where a lot of people were urging you to run.

DWS: The districts in Broward County were intentionally exploded into smithereens, and DeSantis drew this map in a partisan way. There are three incumbent members of Congress’ homes in (CD 22): Mine, Jared Moskowitz, and Byron Donalds. It’s a District that I am confident that a capable and hardworking Democratic candidate will run for, probably multiple. We have to make sure that Broward County does not lose its clout. There’s no guarantees for anything, but we cannot risk at this consequential time, with as much as at stake, to have potentially four Republicans represent Broward County that are based in districts that are based somewhere else so their priority wouldn’t be Broward. A freshman who is a beginner just starting out in this system, that is a risk that we cannot afford to take. Over the last few weeks, I had intensive, lengthy conversations and have been out in the community and gotten the feedback, so that I could understand where the folks in this District were coming from, when it came to what DeSantis and Trump tried to do to us. The overwhelming feedback that I’ve gotten was that they wanted to make sure we didn’t lose our experience, and they wanted to make sure that it was me, who has always been there for them and shown up and could be counted on. This is a District that I’ve represented nine of the 14 cities in the time I’ve been a legislator. And I have not just shown up in the districts I’ve represented. I’ve shown up in places all over this county. Having been the Chair of the Democratic National Committee under Barack Obama, I spent co-curricular time while serving in Congress fighting for Democrats and our values and for this community, beyond the reaches of whatever District I represented at the time.

FP: State Sen. Rosalind Osgood and others have asked specifically if any of your work has been focused on the needs of the Black community.

DWS: I have tangible achievements that have helped the African American, Caribbean American, and the breadth of this District through my whole career, which we’ll be talking about. That is not going to change.

FP: I know you had a close working relationship with Alcee Hastings at the end…

DWS: Not just the end. The whole way through.

FP: He has a daughter in this race (Maisha Williams). But can you tell me how your relationship with Alcee informed you of the needs of this District?

DWS: Because Congressman Hastings and I were incredibly close, and we worked together on issues that were important in both of our districts, particularly in the aftermath of the horrific shootings by law enforcement against innocent people across the country, we formed the Law Enforcement Community Task Force, and we went all over Broward County, much of which was in this District, to bring police chiefs together with young people. We sat down and talked with students in roundtables and large-scale assemblies in Committee workshops. I have so many different things that I worked on closely with Congressman Hastings. His legacy is already cemented, but making sure that the mantle can truly be picked up and carried is critical. It has been such a challenge in this District in the last several years since his passing, caused by others— caused by Ron DeSantis, and you know the cloud that has been hanging over the head of this District recently. I want to make sure that I can burnish Alcee’s achievements and make sure that we can build on them and expand how much we can deliver for this community exponentially.

FP: Does this map hurt Jewish American representation in Congress?

DWS: I think it was also quite intentional to water down the Jewish community’s ability to have a voice. This is a cynical, partisan, illegal, unconstitutional map where Republicans admitted that they violated Florida’s constitution. It is no surprise with them drawing a map with partisan intent that they did everything they could to undermine both the Jewish and Black communities’ impact, because these are two communities that side-by-side together have voted for Democratic candidates for generations.

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