Florida’s primary election poses interesting questions for Black voters and representation. Election Night brought about the opportunity to help elect the state’s first Black governor, first Black US Senator and the choice of a white Jewish woman to represent a congressional district historically held by a Black member of Congress.
In the case for governor, Republican Congressman Byron Donalds is a Trump backed conservative whose views are largely out of step with a majority of Black voters. For the US Senate, state Representative Angie Nixon is a Democratic socialist that also excites the traditional Black democratic establishment. And Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz cruised to victory against several Black candidates. She won on the argument that despite being white her years of experience in Congress made her better qualified to represent a newly drawn majority Black district. Black voters agreed and sent her back to Congress.
These results raise valid questions about what Black voters actually want when it comes to representation.
Is having a first Black enough when we know they are unlikely to represent a majority of the community? Does a Black woman Democratic socialist better represent where Black voters are today after years of backing the establishment? Do Black voters even care if the person representing them is also Black?
Is representation simply having someone who looks like you in the governor’s mansion or the U.S. Senate? Or Is representation electing someone whose policies reflect your interests, regardless of race? And should Black voters, after generations of fighting for access to political power, demand both? What should Black folks do if neither candidate provides that opportunity?
Donalds challenges the assumption that Black political advancement and Democratic political advancement are the same thing. A Black Republican can make the same history while also advancing conservative policies many Black voters oppose.
Angie Nixon offers almost the opposite proposition.
Her progressive politics ask voters to judge representation by outcomes. Being Black isn’t necessarily enough if that doesn’t make housing more affordable, improve public schools, raise wages, expand access to health care or help Black families accumulate wealth.
Those questions become increasingly important because Black America has now experienced generations of historic firsts while overall progress remained slow.
Black folks have elected Black mayors, members of Congress, prosecutors, senators and governors. Black folks have served as Cabinet secretaries, attorneys general and corporate executives. And Black folks elected a Black man president for two terms.
These achievements broke barriers.But they also taught Black folks that a Black person gaining power and Black people gaining power are not necessarily the same thing.
Wasserman Schultz proves that a representative does not necessarily have to share your race to represent you. Her victory demonstrates that ultimately Black voters will support candidates they believe listens to their community, advocates for policies they support, can deliver for the community and remains accountable to them.
There’s a lot of ambiguity in Florida’s election results but some lessons are clear.
Republicans cannot point to Donalds and declare their work with Black America complete. They must persuade Black voters that conservative policies will improve their lives. A Black face doesn’t automatically mean Black votes.
Democrats cannot point to Nixon, or decades of overwhelming Black support and assume loyalty is permanent. They must show that Democrats can produce results. Nixon won not because she was the establishment Democrat. Nixon handily beat the establishment by better articulating what she could get done. And Nixon didn’t wait for anyone’s permission to show her value. Establishment Democrats should take note.
And finally neither white nor Black Democrats can treat Black votes as entitlements. Democrats have to work hard for Black votes as Wasserman Schultz did. Democrats cannot assume that Black voters are so monolithic and simplistic that they can’t see beyond race to advance what they believe to be in their best interest. Again, a Black face isn’t necessarily enough to get Black votes.
For generations, Black Americans fought simply to enter the political system. Then we fought to elect Black people within it.
Florida demonstrates a more complicated dynamic. We can make history. We can vote for who represents us. We can acknowledge that the answer to both might mean looking past a Black candidate entirely and supporting someone who isn’t Black at all.
Donalds can make Black history and likely won’t represent the best interests of Black Floridians. Nixon can represent policy-centered Black representation while still facing doubts that a Black face alone will deliver change. And Wasserman Schultz could represent surrendering Black political power to advance short term political interests.
Whatever this all means, Florida is an example of Black voters deciding for themselves what representation means without a party, politician or pundit defining it for them.
That’s progress worth celebrating within itself even if we don’t know yet what it all means.
Kevin Harris is a Democratic strategist who has advised over 100 campaigns and ballot measures, including the past five presidential elections, served in the Obama Administration, as a cabinet member for two big city mayors and Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus.
