House member joins crowded field of congressional hopefuls
State Rep. Bobby DuBose of Fort Lauderdale is announcing on Tuesday his candidacy to succeed the late Congressman Alcee Hastings.
The entry of DuBose — the fourth currently elected official to declare his candidacy — shakes up the race.
DuBose, 50, is a member of the Florida House of Representatives
and currently serving as the Democratic Party’s co-leader in the House. Serving his fourth term in the Legislature, he’s ineligible to run for re-election in 2022 because of term limits.
That had led to speculation that he’d run for Congress — or for the County Commission seat of another congressional candidate, Dale Holness, or the state Senate
seat of another candidate, Perry Thurston.
DuBose served on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission for almost six years, until his November 2014 election to the House. His first foray into politics came in high school, when he was became president of the NAACP Youth Council in Fort Lauderdale.
“I’ve shown that I can work on issues in tough climates. I’m able to pass legislation,” DuBose said in an interview. He said he’s a middle-class husband and father who is able to bring “a voice to the table that many times isn’t heard. … I’m pretty much reflective of the district. The majority of us are working class folks.” DuBose is the first person in his family to go to college.
DuBose said his experience in state and local governments gives him skills that “I can take to D.C. and continue to deliver for the constituents.”
His political base is northwest Fort Lauderdale, which he served on the City Commission and in the state House. The territory overlaps with Thurston, who announced his candidacy on Monday and Holness, who announced his candidacy on April. 12.
The 20th Congressional District includes most of the African American and Caribbean American communities in Broward and Palm Beach counties. DuBose said his community involvement has extended beyond northwest Fort Lauderdale. “I have served the Black community, my community, throughout the county.”
In what DuBose said is a climate of “Jim Crow 2.0,” racial justice issues are going to be critical in the special election. “It’s always personal for me living as a Black man in America” and raising sons, DuBose said. “This is one of the issues we can’t walk away from.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t set a date for the special election to replace Hastings, who died on April 6. Candidates who are currently in elected offices — including DuBose, Holness and Thurston — will have to submit irrevocable resignations from those offices to officially qualify to run for Congress, though the resignations won’t take effect immediately. A large field of candidates has emerged for the 20th Congressional District, which Hastings represented since 1993. The other current elected official seeking the party nomination is Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief. Former Palm Beach County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor is also running.