Florida LGBTQ Caucus Snubs Wasserman Schultz, Frankel

The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus recently snubbed U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel, two Democratic incumbents who have long been strong allies of the LGBTQ community.

The decision also contrasts with the Human Rights Campaign’s 2026 Congressional Scorecard, on which Wasserman Schultz and Frankel earned scores of 100 and 95, respectively, based on votes scored by HRC during the 118th Congress. Both earned perfect scores for the 116th and 117th Congresses.

Frankel, who is running in the state’s 23rd Congressional District, has also been endorsed by the political arm of the Palm Beach Human Rights Council.

Kristen Browde, the caucus president, told the Sun Sentinel that the reason was straightforward: neither Democrat met the required 67% threshold for an endorsement.

Wasserman Schultz, whom some caucus members reportedly call the “Godmother of the caucus,” received 53% of the vote — well short of the two-thirds required for an endorsement. Frankel fared even worse, with only 44%.

Other factors may have influenced the outcome, including the presence of new voting members at the group’s endorsement meeting in Orlando and a desire to back younger, more progressive candidates.

Both Wasserman Schultz and Frankel were significantly affected by Florida Republicans’ recent redistricting. Wasserman Schultz’s former district was divided among five congressional districts. Although her home is in the 22nd Congressional District, she chose to run in the open 20th, a Democratic “vote-sink” that offers the liberal incumbent an easier path to reelection.

Wasserman Schultz faces several other Democrats, including Elijah Manley, an out gay progressive who received 40% of the caucus vote. The district includes several communities with large LGBTQ populations, including Wilton Manors — the unofficial capital of South Florida’s LGBTQ community — Oakland Park, Pompano Beach, Tamarac, Plantation, and Fort Lauderdale’s Victoria Park neighborhood.

But the central Broward County district also has a significant Black electorate, with Black voters making up approximately 42% of its voters. Wasserman Schultz’s decision to seek the seat has created friction among Florida Democrats over concerns that her candidacy could dilute Black political representation and questions about whether she should have run in a more Republican-leaning district.

Browde suggested those factors may have influenced the 50 caucus members who voted on endorsements.

“I can’t put myself in the minds of the individuals who cast their ballots,” she said. “But this is a year in which, in the case of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, she’s running in a district that she shouldn’t be, and there are very strong younger candidates who are longtime residents of that district, and they had support.”

Browde nevertheless praised Wasserman Schultz as a steadfast ally of South Florida’s LGBTQ community, calling her “fabulous on equality issues.”

Redistricting also transformed Frankel’s 23rd Congressional District into another Democratic-leaning “vote-sink,” this one in Palm Beach County. The more moderate Frankel faces progressive Victoria Doyle, who courted members at the caucus gathering and whose campaign is advised by Stephen Gaskill, a former caucus president.

Doyle outperformed Frankel in the initial vote, receiving 52% of caucus members’ votes but falling short of the endorsement threshold.

Browde said Frankel is “terrific” and made a “good presentation” demonstrating her career-long support for LGBTQ issues, “but again, Victoria Doyle, her whole pitch was younger, more aggressive and that has appeal.”

Regardless of who wins the Aug. 18 primaries, Browde said the caucus would unite behind the Democratic nominees in both districts for the general election.