Elijah Manley ‘almost certainly’ challenging Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in Democratic Primary

Community organizer Elijah Manley is signaling plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in a Democratic Primary next year. If elected, the Fort Lauderdale native could be the youngest member of Congress.

“I’m taking a hard look at a bid for Florida’s 20th congressional district,” Manley posted on X. “This community needs a working class champion, not a politician distracted by legal battles, scandals, and potential indictments. I’m not a Washington politician or an insider. I’ve spent more than a decade fighting for working people right here in this community.”

Manley told Florida Politics he is “almost certainly running.” The 26-year-old, who faced homelessness while growing up in the area, provided the outlet with a short biography stressing his work on addressing poverty in South Florida. The Fort Lauderdale High graduate expects to earn his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Maryland Global Campus this Spring. He has worked as a substitute teacher in Broward County schools and in the local hospitality industry.

Manley has also run unsuccessfully multiple times in state and local races.

The moves come in the wake of a House Ethics Committee investigation of Cherfilus-McCormick. The committee on Jan. 2 issued a report saying there was reason to believe Cherfilus-McCormick “made payments to a state political action committee in connection with her campaign and failed to report these payments as contributions to her campaign.”

Additionally, the state just sued Trinity Health Care Services for accepting a payment 100 times greater than agreed to for registering individuals for COVID vaccinations. Cherfilus-McCormick was CEO of the company at the time, and was also self-funding an ultimately successful campaign for Congress in a Special Election to replace the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings.

“I remember the Congresswoman tried to sue Florida Politics for covering this,” Manley posted on social media. “And they were right on the money. Almost with precision.”

Cherfilus-McCormick in 2024 won re-election to Congress without opposition after rapper and philanthropist Luther Campbell decided not to run after briefly opening a campaign account. She was the only member of the Florida congressional delegation to secure her current term without opposition.

Currently, no candidate has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run in Florida’s 20th Congressional District in 2026.