Seven Democrats vying to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson gathered at Miramar City Hall Commission Chambers on Saturday for a candidate forum, arriving just as early voting opened for the August 18 primary and a fresh poll scrambled the race's pecking order. The forum, held at 2300 Civic Center Place, put state Sen. Shevrin Jones, Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert III, and five other contenders in front of voters with less than two weeks left before the closed Democratic primary decides who represents the heavily Democratic District 24.
The gathering came a day after a St. Pete Polls survey found Jones leading the field with 33.1 percent support, ahead of Gilbert at 23.4 percent and Kendrick Meek Jr. at 17.5 percent, with 26 percent of likely voters still undecided, according to Florida Politics. That marked a shift from a July poll that had shown Gilbert holding a narrow lead, underscoring how fluid the contest remains heading into the final stretch. The forum itself was reported by Local 10 News, whose reporters Andrea Torres and Sanela Sabovic detailed the candidates' backgrounds and the event's logistics.
Local 10 News reports the forum was hosted by former Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam and moderated by journalist Calvin Hughes. Early voting for the primary began Saturday, the same day as the forum, while the deadline for voters to request mail-in ballots had already passed two days earlier, on August 6.
A Crowded Field With Deep Roots in South Florida Politics
The seven candidates on stage brought sharply different résumés to the race for the seat Wilson has held for roughly 13 years. Gilbert, 53, served as Mayor of Miami Gardens from 2012 to 2020 and now sits as a Miami-Dade commissioner and former commission chair; he grew up in Miami Gardens, earned a bachelor's degree from Florida A&M University, and holds a law degree from the University of Miami, per the same Local 10 account.
Jones, 42, was born in Hollywood, Florida, and also grew up in Miami Gardens. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020 before moving to the state Senate in 2020, and he holds a bachelor's degree from Florida A&M University along with master's and doctorate degrees in education from Florida Atlantic University, the outlet's report notes. Jones enters the forum backed by a significant labor endorsement: on August 3, 1199SEIU Florida, which represents more than 25,000 healthcare workers statewide, endorsed his campaign, according to Florida Politics.
Kendrick Meek Jr., 29, carries one of the field's most storied political lineages. He is the son of former U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek, who represented Florida's 17th Congressional District from 2003 to 2011, and the grandson of former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, who held that same seat from 1993 to 2003. The younger Meek earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and a J.D. from the University of Miami, interned with the House Judiciary Committee in 2021 and the House Administration Committee in 2015, and worked as a White House aide on healthcare policy initiatives under the Biden administration, per Local 10's reporting. As Hoodline previously reported, Meek launched his campaign from his grandmother Carrie Meek's home.
Gilbert's Establishment Backing Meets a Late PAC Fight
Gilbert entered the primary with the district's most symbolic institutional support. Wilson formally endorsed him on June 22 in what Florida Politics described as a torch-passing ceremony in Miami Gardens, a moment that framed Gilbert as her chosen successor months before the August primary. Campaign finance reports from late July showed Gilbert leading total fundraising with more than $812,000 raised, ahead of retired Air Force colonel and physician Dr. Rudolph Moise, who had brought in over $631,000, according to Local 10's earlier reporting on the race.
That financial edge has come under pressure in the campaign's final days. Gilbert's campaign publicly accused Protect Progress, a cryptocurrency-backed super PAC funded primarily by Fairshake, of spending nearly $1 million on television ads attacking his candidacy in early August, Florida Politics reported. The clash illustrates how outside political money has become a defining feature of the late-primary fight in a district Gilbert had long been positioned to inherit.
Haitian-American Candidates Bring TPS Fight to the Forefront
Two candidates in the field, Moise and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime, are Haitian-American, giving added weight to a policy debate that has shaped the race for months. Moise, 71, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and moved to Chicago at age 17; he holds a doctorate in osteopathy from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and a J.D. and MBA from the University of Miami, and he served as Haiti's ambassador-at-large for investment starting in 2014, per Local 10's account. Monestime, 63, was born in Saint-Louis du Nord, Haiti, moved to the United States at 17, served as a Miami-Dade County commissioner from 2010 to 2022, and chaired the county commission from 2014 to 2016; he holds degrees from Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University.
Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants has become a central issue in the campaign since a federal appeals court extended TPS protections through July 27, temporarily halting the termination of legal status for roughly 350,000 Haitians nationwide, according to Island TV. District 24 includes major Haitian-American population centers in North Miami and Little Haiti, making the policy a direct concern for a large share of the electorate rather than an abstract federal debate.
Rounding Out the Field: A Defense Attorney and a Cultural Center Director
Two lesser-known candidates also took part in the forum. Roderick D. Vereen, 64, grew up as a U.S. Army brat and now works as a criminal defense attorney; he earned a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a J.D. from Southern University Law Center, and previously served as an assistant state attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit and as an assistant federal public defender for the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola, per Local 10.
Marshal L. Davis Sr., 76, directs the Marshal L. Davis Sr. African Heritage Cultural Arts Center and works in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood. At the forum, Davis said people should examine their potential expansively and govern themselves by principles, adding that any problem should be examined for its solution, according to the Local 10 report.
Why the Stakes Extend Beyond the Primary Ballot
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new Florida congressional map into law on May 4, and while mid-decade redistricting reshaped several South Florida seats, District 24 remained a heavily Democratic, Black-majority district spanning northern Miami-Dade and southern Broward counties, according to WLRN. Because the district leans so heavily Democratic, the August 18 primary is expected to effectively decide who heads to Washington, even though Republican Te Mayonna Brown and independent candidates have also qualified for the November 3 general election ballot, per Ballotpedia's election guide.
Economic pressures loom large over the race. U.S. Census Bureau estimates cited by Legisletter put the district's median household income at $64,874 and median monthly rent at $1,759, with 23.1 percent of households receiving SNAP food assistance — a rent burden that has kept housing costs, minimum wage proposals, and small-business tax relief at the center of candidate forums throughout the summer, including a June 30 town hall at Florida Memorial University that drew more than 400 residents, as Hoodline reported at the time.
With early voting now underway and the primary just over a week off, the Miramar forum offered what may be one of the last large-scale chances for D-24 voters to see the full field side by side before ballots are finalized on August 18.
