Phil Ehr says he’s heading to court on Day 1 of qualifying next week for Florida’s 28th Congressional District, where he intends to block Democratic Primary opponent Hector Mujica from the ballot over a party switch last year that Mujica denies approving.

That claim — that an error with the Broward County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Office is at fault for the switch — got undercut this week, when the agency said it reviewed its records and found nothing to suggest it made a mistake.

Ehr, a retired Navy Commander who unsuccessfully challenged CD 28 incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez in 2024, told Florida Politics that after qualifying on June 8, he will immediately file suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.

The move follows Florida Politics’ May 29 report that voter registration records from the Broward SOE show Mujica switched his party affiliation from Democrat to no party affiliation on June 4, 2025, before switching back to Democrat on July 26, 2025.

That roughly seven-week interruption appears to render him ineligible under a law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in April requiring partisan candidates to have been registered members of their party for “at least 365 consecutive days” before qualifying begins.

Mujica’s campaign insisted last week that the switch wasn’t authorized by him and was apparently due to a Broward SOE blunder. But in a statement Tuesday, Broward SOE Public Information Officer Lisa Arneaud said the agency had reviewed its records and “found no evidence of a technical or clerical error.”

Under Florida law, Arneaud noted, a voter’s party affiliation may only be changed through a voter registration application submitted by the voter — online, in person or by mail.

“A voter registration application was submitted and processed in accordance with Florida law,” she said in answers to follow-up questions Wednesday.

State law also requires an SOE to update the voter’s record within 13 days and send the voter a new information card. That means Mujica should have received two new information cards from the Broward SOE at the address he’s long listed with the agency, one when the switch to no party affiliation was processed last June and another when he reverted to Democrat the following month.

Campaign Communications Adviser Claire VanSusteren said Mujica maintains that he “has no recollection” of either change. The campaign, through lawyer Hannah Murphy of Miami-based Stearns Weaver, sent the Broward SOE a public records request Monday seeking all voter forms signed by Mujica and all internal records reflecting changes to his registration.

“We are eager to receive and review those records,” VanSusteren said by email, indicating that as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the campaign had not yet gotten the documents requested. “Hector’s record as a Democrat is clear through his voting history, campaign contributions, public service, and long-standing involvement with Democratic causes and candidates. We look forward to resolving this matter based on the facts and the full record.”

Ehr’s campaign, which also filed a fraud complaint against Mujica with the Florida Elections Commission last week, believes his case is strong.

“Florida law is clear: If a candidate has not been registered with the party for the required 365 consecutive days before qualifying, that candidate does not qualify to run under that party’s banner,” it said. “Commander Phil Ehr stands with our Democratic legislators who fought to strengthen ballot integrity and candidate accountability. If Mr. Mujica attempts to qualify anyway, we will pursue emergency legal action to keep an unqualified candidate off the ballot.”

Under state law, partisan candidates must swear under oath that they have met the party registration requirement. If that oath proves inaccurate, a court may remove the candidate from the ballot or prevent their name from appearing in the first place. That law also authorizes a qualified candidate or political party to challenge cases of alleged noncompliance by filing for declaratory and injunctive relief in circuit court, as Ehr plans to do.

Florida Politics asked the Florida Democratic Party, Miami-Dade County Democratic Party, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee whether they believe Mujica is eligible.

Their responses ranged from cautious to silent.

The Florida Democratic Party confirmed it is aware of Ehr’s complaint, but deferred to the court on interpretation and enforcement. “The Florida Democratic Party is not an arbiter when it comes to qualification disputes,” the organization said. “We are monitoring the investigation and awaiting the outcome.”

Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Laura Kelley said her group is taking a similarly hands-off approach, noting that, as a federal race, CD 28 is “outside our general vetting practice for municipal, county, and state legislative candidates.”

Last month, Kelley and Miami-Dade Democratic Party General Counsel J.C. Planas, a former state lawmaker, informed Senate District 40 candidate Jim Carles that he is ineligible to run as a Democrat this cycle due to a party switch he made in the past year.

Kelley noted two differences between that case and this one: First, Carles is running for a state office, which the Miami-Dade Democratic Party more closely watches. And second, while Mujica contends he did not change his party registration, Carles admitted to doing so, she said.

“We’re not in a position to adjudicate that factual dispute,” she said of the CD 28 controversy.

A representative from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee responded to Florida Politics’ query and confirmed it is aware of questions surrounding Mujica’s voter registration. They declined to comment on this story.

No one from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee responded by press time.

The committee’s silence is notable given Mujica’s prior Senate bid; he ran to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody before pivoting to CD 28 on April 2, less than two weeks before Senate qualifying began.

By that time, his Senate campaign had raised more than $717,000 and spent nearly $640,000, Federal Election Commission records show.

CD 28 covers part of southwestern Miami-Dade County — including all or part of Florida City, Homestead, South Miami and Sweetwater and a slew of unincorporated neighborhoods like Kendall, Goulds, the Hammocks and Westchester — and all of the Florida Keys in Monroe County.

Qualifying runs June 8-June 12. The Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.

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