- Source: Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick ( SHUR-fill-əss; born January 25, 1979) is an American businesswoman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 20th congressional district. Her district covers most of the Black-majority areas in and around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. A member of the Democratic Party, she won a special election in 2022 to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Alcee Hastings.
Early life and career
Cherfilus-McCormick was born in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, to parents from Haiti and raised in the borough of Queens. She moved to Florida at 13 to attend high school. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from Howard University and a Juris Doctor from the St. Thomas University School of Law.
After graduating from college, Cherfilus-McCormick served as a project manager for the New York City Transit Authority. From 1999 to 2007, she worked as the vice president for operations of Trinity Health Care Services, a Florida-based family home health care company co-founded by her stepfather, Gabriel Smith. She later served as CEO.
U.S. House of Representatives
= Tenure
=Cherfilus-McCormick is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
On December 27, 2023, the House Ethics Committee announced that it was investigating Cherfilus-McCormick over complaints that she may have violated campaign finance laws, failed to submit required disclosures and carried out improper hiring practices. Cherfilus-McCormick has denied the allegations.
= Elections
=2018
Cherfilus-McCormick ran for Florida's 20th congressional district in the August 28 Democratic primary against incumbent Alcee Hastings in 2018. She lost, 73.6%–26.4%.
2020
Cherfilus-McCormick challenged Hastings again in 2020. She noted various ethics concerns facing Hastings and his health as reasons for running. She lost the August 18 primary, 69.3%–30.7%.
2022 special
After Hastings died on April 6, 2021, Cherfilus-McCormick ran again in the 20th district in the 2022 special election. During the campaign, she loaned $3.7 million to her campaign organization. She campaigned on progressive policies such as a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and a $1,000-a-month universal basic income. Her campaign was supported by Brand New Congress, a progressive organization that also backed candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
After a recount, Cherfilus-McCormick was declared the winner of the Democratic primary by five votes over Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness in an upset. She easily defeated Republican Jason Mariner in the January 11, 2022, general election. She is the only Haitian-American Democrat ever elected to Congress and only the second overall, after Republican Mia Love of Utah.
2022 regular election
Following her narrow margin of victory in the special election, Cherfilus-McCormick was again challenged by Holness for the regular election. Cherfilus-McCormick handily defeated Holness in the August Democratic primary, 66%-27% with another 6% going to Anika Omphroy. Cherfilus-McCormick defeated Republican nominee Drew Montez-Clark with 72% of the vote during the November election, and she started her first full term in Congress on January 3, 2023.
= Committee assignments
=For the 118th Congress:
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Africa
Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee on Technology Modernization (Ranking Member)
= Caucus memberships
=Congressional Black Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus
Political positions
Cherfilus-McCormick voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis. Cherfilus-McCormick voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Personal life
Cherfilus-McCormick married lawyer Corlie McCormick in 2017 and lives in Miramar, Florida. They have two children together.
Cherfilus-McCormick is Protestant.
Electoral history
2018
2020
2022
See also
List of African-American United States representatives
Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
External links
Representative Cherfilus-McCormick official U.S. House website
Campaign website
Appearances on C-SPAN
Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
Profile at Vote Smart
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Daftar dukungan kampanye presiden Kamala Harris 2024
- Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
- 2022 Florida's 20th congressional district special election
- Florida's 20th congressional district
- Sheila
- 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida
- List of United States representatives from Florida
- List of members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
- 2024 United States presidential election in Florida
- List of new members of the 117th United States Congress
- Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment
