Local Democrats in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District say Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has nothing to fear in her primary, despite her challenger’s eye-popping fundraising haul.
Nova Southeastern University law professor Tim Canova, a first-time candidate, shocked the party this week when he announced that he had raised $557,000 in the first quarter for his upstart bid to deny the Democratic National Committee chair a renomination to Congress.
That will go a long way in getting his campaign off the ground, but Wasserman Schultz supporters said many voters don’t know who Canova is, making it tough to compete with the congresswoman’s decades-long career in South Florida politics.
“Whoever is mounting that campaign is wasting their money,” said state Sen. Eleanor Sobel, whose district overlaps with much of the 23rd. “This is a strong Democratic district, and Debbie is a household name.”
Still, Wasserman Schultz, who hasn’t faced a serious and well-funded primary challenger, is not taking the Aug. 30 primary lightly. A day after Canova’s fundraising announcement and a week after rolling out an endorsement from President Obama, Wasserman Schultz revealed she raised $614,000 in the first quarter, her highest three-month take of the cycle by a margin of more than $200,000.
In an interview with National Journal, Canova said about 90 percent of his donations, which averaged less than $20, came from outside the state, likely from liberals upset with Wasserman Schultz’s tumultuous tenure at the DNC.
“Why would people all over the country be donating to this campaign?” Canova said. “Well, she’s a national leader, a national figure, and it’s an indictment of her failed leadership.”
Wasserman Schultz came under fire this cycle during the controversy over Sen. Bernie Sanders’ DNC voter-data access and complaints about the timing and schedule of the Democratic debates. Critics alleged that the congresswoman, who was a cochair of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, has a vendetta against Sanders.
Canova said he has tapped into that frustration because donations to his campaign surged after the DNC reversed its ban on federal lobbyist donations to fund the convention, when the congresswoman released her payday-lending bill, and when the state Democratic Party tried to block Canova’s access to its voter data—a policy it has since reversed.
Perhaps most notably, Canova said fundraising surged by almost $100,000 in the last four days of the quarter—after Obama’s endorsement.
The Wasserman Schultz campaign declined to comment. But state Democrats and veteran campaign strategists said Canova’s candidacy doesn’t pose a serious threat because the antiestablishment sentiment fueling his fundraising surge isn’t mirrored in the Broward County-based district.
After nearly 12 years in the state legislature and about a dozen in Congress, Wasserman Schultz is meticulous about her constituent service, Florida Democrats said. Voters value their long-standing relationships with her and are aware her high-profile position is bound to attract criticism.
“I would suspect the momentum for this is coming from places not in South Florida,” Florida-based Democratic consultant Steve Schale said. “Folks can write millions of dollars worth of checks. In the end, the decision on Debbie’s future service in Congress is going to remain up to the voters.”
In talking to voters, Canova senses local discontent. The congresswoman’s opposition to a state ballot initiative on medical marijuana angered some Democrats, and her vote for the Iran nuclear deal left some smarting in the heavily Jewish district.
But even if Jewish groups disagreed with her vote, said Democratic fundraiser Andrew Weinstein, a prominent South Florida lawyer, they were impressed with the time and effort she spent taking input from the community. She arranged for Vice President Joe Biden to come to the district to answer questions from concerned constituents.
Canova, who once advised the Sanders campaign, aligns himself with the self-described Democratic socialist and eschews all corporate or super PAC donations. About 90 percent of his donations came from the online fundraising tool ActBlue, he said.
He defended his national donor base by pointing to Wasserman Schultz’s donor stats. Her campaign told the Sun Sentinel that 36 percent of her 6,909 donations came from Florida. Her average contribution was $89. In contrast, Canova said he received about 26,000 donations and got more individual donations in Florida than his opponent.
With his funds, Canova said he plans to bulk up his staff and mount a formidable ground game and field operation. He also said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if he went on the air. He has won backing from some national labor groups, the Communications Workers of America and National Nurses United, but is lacking in local endorsements.
But he isn’t worried: “I never said I was going to win by getting endorsements.”
Local Democrats and strategists said Wasserman Schultz is still overwhelmingly popular, spending ample time in the district and giving constituents swift help with Social Security concerns. They also pointed to the March presidential primary, when Clinton carried the district with 68 percent of the vote.
Local consultants said those stats show voters likely aren’t receptive to a candidate with a Sanders-esque message.
“He may have money, but she has voters and she also has money,” Democratic consultant Robin Rorapaugh said. “That’s an equation that I think means she wins.”
