Democrats are divided. Longtime political alliances are strained. Accusations of unfair tactics are flying. Negative ads are filling voters’ mailboxes. Obscure political committees are spending big bucks.
For the second time in two years, an August contest in southern and western Broward has turned into what may be the county’s most blistering hot political race.
Three candidates are running for the Democratic nomination for Florida Senate District 35: Rodney Jacobs Jr., Chad Klitzman and Barbara Sharief.
The winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary faces Republican Vincent Parlatore in November. District 35 leans so Democratic that the primary winner is almost certain to win the general election and succeed state Sen. Lauren Book, who can’t seek reelection because of term limits.
Issues
The candidates are largely in agreement with Democratic orthodoxy on major social issues and want to deal with housing affordability and high property insurance costs.
Abortion: One of the Democratic Party’s defining issues for 2024 is abortion rights.
Jacobs wrote in a South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board questionnaire that “fundamentally, abortion should be legal and the decision should be left up to the physician and the mother without government intrusion. Medical decisions are deeply personal and complex, and they should be made by those directly involved, not dictated by legislation.”
Klitzman said he “support(s) a woman’s right to choose and will do everything in my power to restore reproductive rights in the Sunshine State and codify reproductive rights in the Florida Constitution.”
Sharief said “everyone should have the right to decide if and when they wish to have a baby. The personal right to bodily autonomy and the right to privacy should be the floor, not the ceiling.”
Guns: All oppose Republican-sponsored legislation, which so far has been unsuccessful, to allow people to openly carry firearms.
“Our communities are already grappling with the impacts of gun violence, and adding more firearms into the mix without proper oversight and training exacerbates the problem,” Jacobs wrote, adding that “the proliferation of firearms in public spaces creates an atmosphere of fear and anxiety, which is detrimental to our communities.”
Klitzman said such laws “do not make our communities safer and only increase the likelihood there will be another tragic incident involving a gun.”
Sharief said so-called open carry “would be completely dangerous to people everywhere and to law enforcement. Less regulation of guns would only make us less safe.”
Arts and culture: All three condemned Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto of $32 million in arts and culture funding from the state budget, wiping out a year’s funding for hundreds of organizations statewide.
“Eliminating funding for these projects deepens the division we have in our state around race, culture, and identity. Arts and cultural programs are essential for fostering understanding and empathy among diverse groups,” Jacobs said.
Klitzman said DeSantis “remains committed to flaming culture wars rather than making decisions that are in the best interests of Floridians and our economy. Arts and cultural programs and projects are an important economic engine for our state.”
And Sharief said in her questionnaire that the “action strips our communities of valuable cultural and educational opportunities and undermines the economic benefits these programs bring. The arts are a powerful tool for education, expression, and community building, especially in marginalized communities where such programs can foster a sense of belonging and identity.”
Tenor of campaign
Sharief is depicting herself as the experienced hand with the know-how to get things done in Tallahassee. She’s the only one with experience in elected office.
She’s a former Broward County commissioner, and was twice elected by other commissioners to serve terms as county mayor. Previously she was a Miramar city commissioner.
Sharief also lost a 2021 special congressional primary and a state Senate campaign against Book in 2022. She has run in, and represented, parts of District 35 in the past.
Klitzman also has some experience as a candidate. In 2020, he came exceedingly close to winning a countywide Democratic primary for Broward Supervisor of Elections, performing far better than several political veterans who also ran. Joe Scott won the primary and is now elections supervisor.
Jacobs is a first-time candidate.
Klitzman and Jacobs portray themselves as younger change agents, and Klitzman touts his extensive on-the-ground campaigning in the district.
Jacobs and allied interest groups, with funding help from the state’s trial lawyers, have gone after Sharief and Klitzman, trying to convince people that they have ties to Republicans, something designed to cut at their support in the primary, which is open only to registered Democratic voters. Sharief was once a Republican, but became a Democrat in 2005.
The infighting is a continuation of what took place two summers ago, when Sharief challenged Book for reelection. Book and Sharief never made political peace, and some supporters of Book oppose Sharief this year. And some past Book supporters are with Sharief this time.
The territory
The 35th Senate District is the southwest quarter of the county, mostly south of Interstate 595 and west of Florida’s Turnpike.
It also includes territory around the hockey arena in Sunrise now known as the Amerant Bank Arena (formerly the BB&T Center) and the Sawgrass Mills shopping mall, along with vast unpopulated territory in the Everglades.
The district includes all or parts of Cooper City, Davie, Hollywood, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Sunrise and Southwest Ranches and Weston.
Demographics
Identity politics could be a factor in the contest, Broward — and the 35th District — continues becoming more racially diverse. Though it’s a politically sensitive subject, at least some voters are inclined to cast ballots for individuals with whom they feel a cultural, gender or racial connection.
Klitzman is a white, LGBTQ, Jewish man.
Sharief is a Black, Muslim woman.
Jacobs is a Black man.
Black and Jewish voters are the most loyal constituencies that make up the Democratic Party coalition, and both are crucial to winning elections.
The 35th District’s voters are 32.4% Black, 29.2% Hispanic and 26.8% Republican. The breakdowns aren’t precise because Florida voters aren’t required to identify themselves by race when registering. The latest district demographic analysis posted earlier this month by the Supervisor of Elections Offices lists 11.6% as other.
The Democratic registered voters are overwhelmingly female.
The demographic report shows 59.5% are women, 37.6% are men and 2.8% are unspecified.
The single largest group (26,271) is Black women. The smallest (14,065) is white men.
In a Sun Sentinel questionnaire, Klitzman wrote that the district “is an incredible microcosm of Florida — more so than any other district in the state. While many districts are either majority White or majority minority districts, we are a melting pot of all different ethnic and economic backgrounds in a somewhat suburban setting nestled just miles away from the bustling cities of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.”
Jacobs cited the district’s “vibrant diversity and unique cultural blend. Unlike other areas that may be more homogeneous, our district is a true melting pot where various cultures converge and coalesce into a rich tapestry of traditions, languages, and lifestyles.”
And Sharief said, “Senate District 35 stands out for its Black and Hispanic communities, which are currently facing increasing challenges due to rising living expenses, especially in housing and insurance. The cornerstone of my campaign has been implementing a Social Justice Reform Plan to address these deep-rooted issues.”
Candidates
Jacobs, 34, of Miramar, is executive director of the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel, a government agency that investigates complaints about alleged police misconduct in the city’s police department, and a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.
He has a law degree but doesn’t practice.
Klitzman, 30, of Sunrise, is a lawyer. A graduate of Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Klitzman was president of Kids Voting Broward, a countywide voting initiative for young people, and served as the student ambassador to the Broward League of Cities. During college and law school he had jobs in federal agencies. In 2014, he interned at the White House during President Barack Obama’s administration.
If elected, he’d be the youngest member of the Florida Senate.
Sharief, 52, of Miramar, who has a doctorate in nursing practice, is founder and CEO of South Florida Pediatric Homecare.
This article includes information from Sun Sentinel archives.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
Originally Published: