MIAMI — Election Day is held every year in the U.S., with local positions, special elections, and ballot initiatives taking place almost each year. The General Election, though, is essentially every other year, on the even numbered years. This is when various ranking local, state, and federal seats are decided. In Florida, the primary election is held 10 weeks prior to the General Election to determine which candidates will represent their respective parties (ie. Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc.). This year’s General Election is set for November 6 and Florida’s primary was held August 28.
Florida enjoys the largest number of people of Haitian heritage. In 2000, Florida had 182,224 foreign-born Haitians, 43.5% of the total foreign-born population from Haiti in the United States (this number did not include U.S. citizens of Haitian heritage).
As Florida enjoys such a rich Haitian heritage, we are witnessing a growing number of highly skilled, experienced, and dedicated professionals turning their sights on political office as a means of helping their fellow citizen. Haitian-Americans long to be part of the American political process and this year at least 6 Haitian-Americans threw their names into consideration for various government elected positions.
Haitian-American Wade Darius, 39, unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Val Demings, 61, a former Chief of the Orlando Police Department and the first woman to hold the position in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, covering West Orange County, including downtown Orlando, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Apopka and Windermere.
Wade Darius of Auburndale, in Polk County, president of T.D. Homes Marketing Group, lost his first political race against Demings. It was clear that Darius -who raised about $36,000 for his campaign compared to Demings’ $618,000- had little chance to succeed in his first political attempt. He lost the election by a large margin. Incumbent Demings received 73,583 votes (75%) and the young Haitian-American candidate got 24,519 votes (25%).
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a first-generation Haitian American, ran against incumbent heavyweight Alcee Hastings in the Democratic Primary race for U.S. House District 20. By entering this race, the 39-year-old attorney, CEO, and healthcare-reform lobbyist tried to become just the second Haitian-American to be elected to Congress.
The district includes most of the majority-Black precincts in and around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach (home of a large Haitian migrant population), Cherfilus, who did not fully reach out to the Haitian-American voters living in that district, lost the race against the 81 year old political veteran who has held the seat since 1993. Hastings’ margin of victory was large. Hastings won the race for his reelection at the U.S. House of Representatives by receiving 48,882 votes (73.6%) and Cherfilus scored decently with 17,847 votes (26.3%). Alcee Hastings is likely to win a 14th term after the Democratic primary win, as only write-in opponents stand against him for November.
State Sen. Daphne Campbell is now out of the Florida Legislature after Attorney Jason Pizzo defeated her in the Democratic primary for Senate District 38 Tuesday night. Pizzo will now take over Campbell’s District 38 seat because no Republicans filed to run in the race. That made Tuesday’s vote the de facto general election for this seat.
The contest served as a rematch from 2016 when Jason Pizzo was one of five people to challenge Campbell who made history two years ago becoming the first Haitian-American to ever serve in the Florida Senate. Pizzo came second behind Campbell that year. This year, however, Pizzo was able to go one-on-one with the incumbent and that was enough to turn the race in his favor. Campbell has been plagued by many financial scandals as Senator. Her loss is a big political blow for the South Florida Haitian Community.
“Jason Pizzo promises to bring new ethical leadership to Tallahassee, work to address climate change, protect health care coverage, and shift the focus back on working Floridians who increasingly find it harder to make ends meet in Florida’s low-wage economy,” his campaign announced in a statement.
After all the votes were counted, Pizzo led Campbell 54 percent (26,898 votes) to 46 percent (22,827 votes) among Miami-Dade voters.
In the race for Republican primary for House District 66, which covers the Tampa area, businessman Nick DiCeglie (60%) defeated Haitian-American lawyer Berny Jacques (40%). DiCeglie pumped $125,000 in candidate loans into his bid in the closing weeks of
the primary race to surpass Jacques, who had held the fundraising lead throughout most of the race because of his head start.
Money is only one aspect of the race. Both men touted volleys of competing endorsements throughout the hotly contested campaign.
For DiCeglie, he earned the backing of state Rep. Joe Gruters, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Realtors, the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association, Pinellas County Commissioner Dave Eggers, Pinellas County Clerk Ken Burke, and many others.
Jacques, meanwhile, earned the backing of the Florida Professional Firefighters, the Florida Fraternal Order of Police, the Seminole Professional Firefighters, retired Air Force Col. EJ Otero, Seminole City Councilmember Roger Edelman, former Pinellas County School Board Member Glen Gilzean, and Largo Commissioner and former Police Chief John Carroll.
Berny Jacques, 31, is the development director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay and previously spent four years as an assistant state attorney. He was raised in Haiti until 1994 when, at the age of seven his family sought asylum in the U.S. after political violence erupted in the country. He relocated to Immokalee, Florida.
“I’ve had the great privilege of serving this area as a prosecutor,” said Jacques during an interview with a local TV station two weeks prior the Primary election, “in community service groups and as a grassroots conservative leader. As a proud first generation American, I’ve been fortunate to achieve the American Dream because of the opportunities available in our great state.”
Now that DiCeglie has secured the Republican nomination to succeed term-limited Rep. Larry Ahern, he can turn his focus toward Democratic nominee Alex Heeren, a former school teacher who went unopposed in the primary.
In Florida House District 108, newcomer Haitian-American Dotie Joseph earned 49 percent of the vote to incumbent state Rep. Roy Hardemon‘s 36 percent. Joseph Beauvil, another Haitian-American candidate ended the night in third with 15 percent of the vote.
Hardemon (6,114 votes) was primaried by two opponents seeking to cast him out of the legislature. Hardemon has a lengthy criminal history and says he felt “betrayed” and “lynched from” the Democratic Party over those primary challenges. He also accused the party of being racist against black people, according to the Miami Herald.
Dotie Joseph, daughter of well-known community pastor Gonel Joseph, managed to outraise incumbent Hardemon by more than a 2-to-1 margin. She was born in Haiti, and raised in Miami. Ms. Joseph earned a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, where she co-founded Yale’s Haitian Student Alliance and served as the Political Action Chairperson of the Yale N.A.A.C.P.
After graduating Yale, she worked as a former Deputy City Attorney for North Miami Beach before deciding to challenge Hardemon.
In a statement on her victory, Joseph thanked Ruth’s List (an organization whose mission is helping progressive women run inspiring, local campaigns that win), which backed her campaign to oust Hardemon.
“I am humbled by the support shown to me by our community and I’m grateful for the support I received from Ruth’s List,” Joseph said.
Joseph Beauvil (2,476 votes), better known in the Haitian Community as ‘Mèt Bro’ lagged behind the other two candidates in fundraising. He founded an immigration services company and has also worked in Haiti’s Refugee Migration Affairs unit prior to running in this race.
Primary Democratic winner Dotie Joseph (8,324 votes) will be the favorite against Libertarian Party candidate Riquet Caballero in the general election on Nov. 6. Florida House District 108 covers portions of Miami-Dade County, including El Portal and Liberty City.
Jean Monestime, who made political history in 2010 by becoming the first Haitian-American to ever serve on the Board of Miami-Dade County Commission when he unseated incumbent Dorrin Roll defeated his opponent for a third consecutive time (2010, 2014, 2018) on Tuesday night. For Rolle’s second challenge this year, he received 35 percent of the vote (7,312 votes) — the strongest result of any challenger in a Miami-Dade commission race. But Monestime took 65 percent in the two-candidate race, handing him a third term on the commission.
For commissioners on the board that year, the new rules meant a maximum of two more terms. The commissioners from odd-numbered districts who were reelected in 2016 must leave in 2020. Monestime who gained 13,147 votes and the other commissioners who held onto their even-numbered seats on Tuesday must vacate those seats by 2022.
Elections helped to shape the political and legal future for generations. This year we witnessed a growth of more Haitian-American candidates and though their success was tempered, it inspires others to step up, take notice, and help carry the torch of liberty for those who have come before them.
These primary elections are a powerful reminder that our voice matters, even during the primaries. When looking at the total number of registered voters who actually cast votes in this August 28th’s primary election, it was a small fraction. That is a growing tragedy, that so many, especially from poverty stricken nations and places where a voice is never truly heard would be so quick to turn aside their right to vote and remain home or believe it simply doesn’t matter.
Americans, including Haitian-Americans have a privilege to decide the men and women who will represent them and be their voices in government. Hopefully more Haitian-Americans will step up and seek to be that voice and others will come out and support them in future primary and general elections.
LE FLORIDIEN
Great article thank you. Very detailed