Haitian-American former Miami-Dade Commission Chair Jean Monestime enters race for Florida’s 24th Congressional District
Key Points(5)
- Former Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Jean Monestime, a Haitian-American community leader and businessman, on Monday announced his candidacy for the U.S.
- House of Representatives in Florida’s 24th Congressional District, stepping into an open-seat race following U.S.
- Frederica Wilson’s decision not to seek re-election.
- Monestime said he is running to build on what he described as a long tradition of community-focused leadership in the district, while paying tribute to Wilson’s decades-long public service career.
- “Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has devoted her life to serving our community as an educator, mentor, and tireless advocate for working families,” Monestime said.
Former Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Jean Monestime, a Haitian-American community leader and businessman, on Monday announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 24th Congressional District, stepping into an open-seat race following U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson’s decision not to seek re-election.
Monestime said he is running to build on what he described as a long tradition of community-focused leadership in the district, while paying tribute to Wilson’s decades-long public service career.
“Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has devoted her life to serving our community as an educator, mentor, and tireless advocate for working families,” Monestime said. “Her commitment to young people, her leadership through the 5,000 Role Models of Excellence Project, and her unwavering voice for South Florida have left a lasting mark on our community. I thank her for her extraordinary service and wish her continued success as she begins this next chapter.”
Wilson’s announcement last week that she will retire at the end of her current term brings to a close nearly three decades in South Florida public life, including service on the Miami-Dade School Board, in the Florida Legislature, and in Congress since 2011.
Monestime, who previously served as the first Haitian-American elected to the Miami-Dade County Commission and later its first Haitian-American chairman, said his campaign will focus on economic opportunity, affordable housing, education, healthcare access, small business growth and public safety.
Born in Haiti, Monestime arrived in the United States at age 17 without speaking English. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida International University and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University before building a career in business, real estate and public service.
During his tenure on the county commission, he supported infrastructure investments and economic development initiatives, and as chairman, he helped guide Miami-Dade through major policy and budget decisions while working across diverse communities.
He said Florida’s 24th Congressional District — home to one of the nation’s largest Haitian-American communities — deserves representation that reflects its diversity and the experiences of working families and immigrants.
“This district deserves a representative who understands the struggles of working families, the hopes of immigrants seeking opportunity, and the importance of creating pathways to economic success for the next generation,” Monestime said.
Florida’s 24th Congressional District — which was redrawn following the 2020 U.S. Census — includes communities across Miami-Dade such as Little Haiti, Brownsville, Biscayne Park, North Miami, Miami Gardens and Opa-locka, as well as parts of southern Broward County, including Pembroke Park, West Park and sections of Miramar. The primary election is August 18, 2026.
