Oliver Gilbert Wins Wilson's Old South Florida Seat by Just 2 Points

Oliver Gilbert has won the crowded Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Frederica Wilson in Florida's 24th Congressional District, edging state Sen. Shevrin Jones by roughly 2 percentage points in a race that will almost certainly decide who represents one of the state's safest Democratic strongholds. Gilbert captured 34.5% of the vote in the seven-way contest, narrowly topping Jones at 32% and Kendrick Meek Jr. at 17%, according to results reported Tuesday.

The margin capped a volatile final stretch of the campaign. As reported by Florida Politics, an early-August St. Pete Polls survey had shown Jones surging ahead of Gilbert, 33.1% to 23.4%, a stunning reversal from a July poll that had Gilbert leading Jones 27% to 24%. Gilbert leaned heavily on his record as Miami Gardens mayor and his 2022-2024 tenure as Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman, during which he pushed for regional rapid transit expansion and secured more than $20 million in funding for a Miami Gardens Performing Arts Center, according to the Miami Herald.

A Retirement That Reshaped the Field

The scramble to succeed Wilson began after she formally announced on May 29 that she would retire at the end of her term, following a stretch in which she missed 43 consecutive House floor votes while recovering from major eye surgery. The same day, per the Herald's reporting, Gilbert tendered his resignation from the Miami-Dade County Commission, timing his departure to take effect January 3, 2027, coinciding with a potential congressional swearing-in.

Wilson gave Gilbert her early endorsement, according to the Herald, a factor Gilbert's campaign highlighted throughout the primary. Wilson herself had delayed announcing whether she would seek reelection after the state's mid-decade redistricting process, and she succeeded Kendrick Meek in the seat after his failed U.S. Senate bid.

A District With Only Three Families in Charge Since 1993

Part of what made this primary so consequential is how rarely the seat changes hands. District 24 has been represented by only three lawmakers since 1993 — Carrie Meek from 1993 to 2003, her son Kendrick Meek from 2003 to 2011, and Frederica Wilson from 2011 through this year, the Herald notes. Carrie Meek represented Miami-Dade County, while Kendrick Meek served in his mother's congressional seat during his own tenure.

The district traces its roots to 1992, when Black Democrats and white Republican legislators convinced a federal court to create three congressional districts, including District 24, providing minority representation at the federal level for those communities for the first time. That map also led to the elections of Corrine Brown, who represented Jacksonville, Carrie Meek, and Alcee Hastings, who represented Broward County, according to the Herald.

Redistricting Reshaped the Battlefield

The primary took place under new lines. Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida's redrawn mid-decade congressional map into law on May 4, establishing a District 24 with a voting-age population that is 47.7% Black and 40.9% Hispanic, according to Ballotpedia. The Florida Legislature voted to redraw congressional lines just months before the primary, and the changes added Black voters to District 24 while increasing white neighborhoods in the historically Black District 20, per the Herald. The district itself has 830,040 residents and retains a largely Black and Latino population with a large immigrant community, the Herald reports.

Money, Attacks and a Bruising Home Stretch

Gilbert's rise through the field wasn't without friction. Kendrick Meek Jr. criticized Gilbert for receiving campaign money from CDR, a contractor tied to Alligator Alcatraz, which donated to Gilbert's political committee, Common Voices, according to the Herald. Gilbert, in turn, criticized Meek for using his father's Washington connections to support attack ads during the race.

Campaign finance filings reviewed by Local 10 News through late July showed physician Rudolph Moise leading the primary field in total receipts with more than $631,000, closely trailed by Gilbert with over $524,000. Gilbert's path to the nomination also ran through Jean Monestime, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, attorney Rod Vereen, and Marshall Davis, the longtime director of the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, all of whom he ultimately outpaced along with Moise.

Jones's decision to run for Congress carried its own cost. He stepped down as the Florida Senate Democratic Leader-designate, a post his colleagues elected him to in February, in order to compete in the District 24 primary, according to Florida Politics. Conceding after losing by about 2 percentage points, Jones told supporters, “This campaign was never about me or any one person – it was about the future we want to build together, and that fight doesn't end tonight.”

What Comes Next

Gilbert now faces Republican opponent Te Mayonna Brown in the November 3 general election, but the district's partisan lean makes him the overwhelming favorite. Nearly 69% of District 24 voters backed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, according to Florida Politics, cementing the seat's status as one of Florida's safest Democratic strongholds heading into the fall. Gilbert, who was appointed to the Miami Gardens City Council in 2008 and became the city's mayor in 2012, has been credited with much of Miami Gardens' economic growth and development during his time in local office, per the Herald's reporting.