With the state Legislature heading to Tallahassee to kick off a special session Monday on congressional redistricting, two Democrats in the Florida delegation announced Friday they would not run against each other, even if they end up in the same district.
Earlier this week, the Legislature released a congressional base map which put Florida Democrats Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel in the same district. Currently running parallel north and south, the base map puts CD 21 -- Deutch’s seat -- in the heart of Palm Beach County. CD 22, currently held by Frankel, is moved further south, taking in the southern part of Palm Beach County and parts of Broward County under the base map.
The Democrats released a joint statement Friday morning, announcing they would both seek re-election but would not take each other on in the primary. Both Deutch and Frankel, unlike fellow Florida Democrat U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, said they backed the redistricting efforts. Arguing it violated the Voting Rights Act, Brown launched a federal challenge of the Florida Supreme Court's ruling last month, ordering the Legislature to redo the congressional districts.
"We both believe in the concept of fair districts and that congressional districts should be drawn to serve the people, not for the pleasure of elected officials,” Deutch and Frankel said in the joint statement. “We have both proudly worked as a team and with other members of our delegation, serving the residents of Palm Beach and Broward counties over many years. We both fully intend to run for re-election and we look forward to serving in Congress together as long as our constituents give us this honor. We are friends, have great respect for one another and both of us are fully committed to not running against each other. ”
Deutch won a special election in April 2010 and is the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Frankel was first elected to Congress in 2012 and has been moving up the ranks at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), serving as a co-chair of its “Women Lead” program for 2016.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
