Former Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, who became the first Jamaican-American mayor of the South Florida county, has officially declared he is running again for Congress, confirming his campaign to the Sun Sentinel.
Holness, a Jamaican-American politician and former Broward County mayor, first challenged Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in the 2021 special Democratic primary following the death of Representative Alcee Hastings. After an 11-candidate field, Cherfilus-McCormick, the first Haitian-American Democrat elected to Congress, narrowly defeated Holness by just five votes. The two faced off again in the 2022 regular election, where Cherfilus-McCormick won by a decisive margin, taking 66% of the vote to Holness’s 27%.
Cherfilus-McCormick went on to represent Florida’s 20th Congressional District, which spans parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Holness, who quietly filed paperwork in August, told the Sun Sentinel that the recent federal indictment of Cherfilus-McCormick was not the reason for his decision to run. He has remained active in local politics and said he is ready for another bid.
Democratic activist Elijah Manley has also announced his candidacy in the upcoming primary.
Cherfilus-McCormick indicted in federal case
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Cherfilus-McCormick, her brother Edwin Cherfilus, and several associates were indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami. Prosecutors allege the case involves a FEMA-funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract awarded in 2021 to the family-run health-care company in Miramar.
The indictment claims the company received an overpayment of $5 million, which was allegedly misappropriated, with a portion directed to Cherfilus-McCormick’s congressional campaign and the remainder benefiting the defendants personally. Additional charges include conspiring to use straw donors to funnel campaign contributions and filing a false federal tax return, allegedly misrepresenting personal and political expenses as business deductions and inflating charitable contributions.
Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, responded to the indictment on Thursday, calling it “an unjust, baseless, sham indictment” and asserting her innocence. She added that she has fully cooperated with investigators and remains focused on representing her constituents.
Holness’s background
Dale V.C. Holness was born in Hanover, Jamaica, on April 2, 1957, and migrated to the U.S. at age 17. He graduated from Plantation High School, attended Broward College, and built a career in business before entering politics. Holness served as a Lauderhill City Commissioner and Vice Mayor from 2007 to 2010, then represented District 9 on the Broward County Commission from 2010 onward, including a term as Broward County Mayor from 2019 to 2020—the first Jamaican-American to hold that post in Florida.
He also has a long-standing presence in real estate, founding All Broward Realty in 1988, now led by his daughter Richelle Dahlia Holness.
