“You’re just a liar. ”
Those words hung in the air as Elijah Manley stared back at me from the screen. He was young, maybe early twenties, a self-declared socialist running against one of the most powerful Democrats in Florida. And he was calling me out on live television.
The confrontation started over a simple question. I asked him if he associated with the left-wing commentator who’d made headlines for saying the United States deserved 9/11. Elijah didn’t flinch. “I like this thing Republicans do where we have to associate everybody with everyone,” he shot back.
“Do I associate every Republican with Candace Owens and the horrible things Charlie Kirk said? Do I associate people with everything the Nazi people on the right have said? No. ”
I told him he was dodging the question.
That’s when he called me a liar. This is the race in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District—a historically Black district that’s been represented by a Black lawmaker for over thirty years. And Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former DNC chair, a white woman who’s been in Congress for two decades, decided she wanted it. She doesn’t even live in the district.
Her own district got redrawn and stretched across the state to Marco Island, so she picked the 20th District in Broward County instead. The one that’s been Black for decades. Elijah Manley is her main challenger, and he’s making his positions clear. Medicare for All.
Abolish ICE. He’s campaigning with a streamer who has said some things that make even me uncomfortable. “I think Jared Moskowitz and Democrats like him have played a formative role in this defeat,” the streamer said during a visit to Florida. “I could probably say the same thing about Debbie Wasserman Schultz as well, who Elijah Manley is running against.
”
When I pressed Elijah on whether he’d be campaigning alongside this controversial figure, he gave me a history lesson instead. “We lived in this country when we didn’t have ICE, and things worked pretty fine,” he said. “We’re talking about paperwork violations for the most part. ”
I pushed back.
We’ve always had immigration enforcement. Tom Homan ran removal operations under Obama. Bill Clinton believed in the rule of law. Why does the progressive wing, his wing, want to undermine it?
“The fact is we did not have ICE,” Elijah insisted. “I’m older than ICE. We had a world without a militarized police agency running through the streets. But we do need common sense immigration reform.
Democrats tried that under Biden—it was good bipartisan legislation. The GOP killed it because Trump told them to. ”
He wasn’t backing down. And he wasn’t the only one upset.
Black leaders in Florida are furious that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is running in their district. They’ve said she’s been disrespectful, that she’s using her money and power to walk into a district that isn’t hers. I saw a picture she posted from a campaign event—Debbie, with her blonde hair, surrounded by Black supporters. One of these things is not like the other.
I’ve followed Debbie’s career for years. She’s been DNC chair. She’s held leadership positions. She’s a political machine.
She doesn’t care about your feelings. She cares about her grip on power. And that’s the problem. Because as bad as Debbie might be, at least she’s not a socialist.
I wouldn’t vote for anyone on the democratic, socialistic, communistic side. That’s my red line. So I’m stuck watching a race where the devil you know might be better than the devil you don’t. And I’m not even the only one who thinks something’s off.
There’s a candidate in that race, another person running, who’s been making claims about ballot harvesting. She says a campaign has people knocking on seniors’ doors, telling them they’ll take their ballots to the box. Opening them up. Changing the vote.
Dropping them in. “Guy with dreadlocks,” she said, snorting. “When I get that footage, I’m going to post it. You got to win by cheating.
Unbelievable. You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re a liar and you’re a cheater. ”
I hate to admit it, but even Trump’s been saying the same thing.
Career politicians rig elections. And for once, he’s not entirely wrong. So it’s coming down to this. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the establishment machine, the one who’s been in power for twenty years, against Elijah Manley, the young socialist who’s willing to call anyone a liar to his face.
I told Elijah he had no chance. She has the name recognition. She has the money. She has the party’s backing.
And with so many other Black candidates splitting the vote, she’s going to walk away with it. But part of me isn’t so sure. Because Elijah Manley isn’t going anywhere. He’s got a following.
He’s got an audience. And he’s got this weird way of making people listen. She’s going to make a lot of people unhappy if she wins. She already has just by running.
And that’s when the real trouble starts.
