Former state Senator Shevrin Jones is running to succeed eight-term U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson in Congressional District 24, according to paperwork filed Thursday morning.
鈥淚t鈥檚 filed and live,鈥� Jones, a 42-year-old Miami Gardens native, told the Phoenix. A Democrat, Jones launched his bid to replace the same-party Wilson one week after she announced her retirement 鈥� after a strange back-and-forth where she initially claimed rumors of her stepping down were 鈥渃razy.鈥�
Hours after filing, Jones told his social media followers to join him at the Koinonia Worship Center 鈥� his parents鈥� Pembroke Pines church 鈥� next Tuesday for 鈥渁n important announcement.鈥�
Jones is a former chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, and served in the Florida Legislature beginning in 2012. He served four terms in the state House before winning his Senate seat in 2020. He held onto his seat during the 2024 elections, and was even set to lead the Senate Democrats in 2028 before announcing last week he wouldn鈥檛 seek reelection.
READ MORE: With U.S. Rep. Wilson stepping down, state Sen. Shevrin Jones emerges as congressional front-runner
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been a pleasure to serve people,鈥� Jones said on the Senate floor last week, bidding farewell to his fellow lawmakers. 鈥淣ow I know when I travel the state of Florida, I have friends all over the state. And while I might not be here in this building, it鈥檚 my hope, after Aug. 18, that you can visit me somewhere else 鈥� maybe in Washington, D.C.鈥�
CD-24 is one of the last primarily Black districts in the state, and one of just four remaining Democrat-leaning sects after Gov. Ron DeSantis congressional lines last month.
Jones will face off against candidates like former Miami-Dade commissioner Jean Monestime, physician Rudolph Moise, and county resident Christine Sanon-Jules in the primary.
Rep. Wilson, 83, has represented the area since 2010. Axios in late May that she was privately planning to retire, but she flatly denied the reporting as a 鈥渃razy rumor.鈥�
She three days later.
Wilson鈥檚 departure comes as House Democrats have pressured their senior citizen members to step aside for younger candidates. Seven of these incumbents have so far been outraged by younger primary opponents.
