U.S. Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, who represents a large part of Palm Beach County in Florida鈥檚 22nd Congressional District, says she will run this year in District 23, where much of her district was moved on passage of Florida鈥檚 new congressional map.
That map, drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis office and presented to lawmakers with 24 hours notice, is predicted to net Republicans additional seats in Congress this November. It鈥檚 also scrambled plans for South Florida Democratic U.S. representatives seeking re-election.
CD 23 is now held by fellow Democrat Jared Moskowitz, but he is after his district was carved up.
Unlike most of the new map, the new CD 23 is more Democratic-leaning.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenging time for our democracy. Florida鈥檚 governor has redrawn Congressional maps to curry favor with Donald Trump, and the U.S. Supreme Court has gutted hard-fought voting and civil rights,鈥� Frankel said in a written statement. 鈥淚 strongly oppose this new Florida map, which silences voters and undermines their rights, and I support efforts in the courts to challenge it.
READ MORE: Lawyer, activist in Lake Worth to challenge Democratic Congresswoman Lois Frankel in August primary
鈥淚 am more committed than ever to stand up to these forces. Should the proposed map hold, I will run in the new District 23, which includes the majority of the voters I currently serve 鈥� and whom I have represented steadfastly for years.鈥�
Frankel, who turns 78 later this month, has represented Palm Beach County in Tallahassee and Washington for decades. She served 14 years in the Florida Legislature, including a stint as the first female Democratic minority leader, from 1986-1992 and 1994-2002. She was elected Mayor of West Palm Beach in 2003, serving for eight years before winning election to Congress in 2012.
Oliver Larkin, an activist, union organizer, and 鈥減roud Democratic Socialist鈥� has previously announced that he is running for the Democratic nomination in CD 23.
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