Three Democrats and one Republican are vying to become Florida’s first out gay congressman

What happens in Florida’s congressional primaries next week could lead to the Sunshine State electing its first out member of Congress. Three Democrats and one Republican all appear to be in strong positions to make history, though none has an easy road ahead.

Democrat Elijah Manley, a gay, Black and Jewish Gen Zer, faces two veteran U.S. representatives in a high-profile Democratic primary. Shevrin Jones, Florida’s first out gay state senator, and Kendrick Meek Jr., an out politician whose father and grandmother both represented South Florida in Congress, face each other in a heated Democratic primary. Self-described MAGA Republican Keith Gross has been the top fundraiser and has led some polls in a large GOP field in the conservative Florida Panhandle.

None of the LGBTQ+ candidates enters the August 18 primary as a prohibitive favorite, but all have a shot to advance to November with a chance to make history. If any succeeds, it will be the first time an out gay man is elected to Congress from the traditional Deep South.

Related: LGBTQ+ Florida lawmaker Shevrin Jones launches congressional bid

A minority seat redrawn

Manley has been in the race the longest of the out candidates in Florida. He filed to run in Florida’s 20th Congressional District against then-U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a South Florida Democrat, as she faced ethical questions about her fundraising. She ultimately was indicted in November for allegedly stealing emergency funding to fund her campaign, then resigned in April to avoid House expulsion, though she remains in the race.

That put Manley in a stronger position to win the seat, but when redistricting wars reached Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis redrew the state's congressional map in a way that dismantled the majority Black seat and left South Florida with two fewer districts in which Democrats won a majority in the 2024 presidential election. Afterward, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the longest-serving Democrat in Florida’s congressional delegation, controversially decided to run in the still-Democratic-leaning District 20. That has sparked a conversation about whether a white candidate should hold the seat. Manley issued a statement in April stating, “a non-black candidate running in a historically Black seat is a contribution to that project” of dismantling Black power.

But he also knows his candidacy means a great deal to the LGBTQ community. Under the new lines, District 20 now includes Wilton Manors, a heavily gay community near Fort Lauderdale.

“Florida has been the belly of the beast against LGBTQ rights, specifically against the trans community, but also has been on the forefront of the attack against the black community at the same time,” Manley told The Advocate. “I think it would be a devastating blow to the homophobes to have the first openly gay member this year.”

Wasserman Schultz, for her part, has been a longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community in South Florida. But she is also straight. Manley hopes voters see the value in electing someone to represent the district who comes from its Black and gay communities.

“There's been so much discussion about representation mattering on the Black front here in this district, but also on LGBTQ community, our representation matters as well,” he said. “They have the opportunity to make history by electing someone from our community to Congress to represent us. It's never been done, and what better way than to do it by electing you know a Black gay man. You can bring both communities together because there is a lot of unfortunate discourse about homophobia in the Black community or racism in a white community. I think I can bring both communities together.”

Related: Republican running for Congress in South Florida says people are ‘born straight’

A different type of candidate

In the Panhandle, Republican attorney Gross declined to speak to The Advocate for this story, but has openly acknowledged his sexuality. Gross, who is gay, has been the top fundraiser, mostly through self-funding, and has spent more than $11 million ahead of the GOP primary.

Gross challenged an incumbent Republican for a state House seat in Georgia but was ultimately removed from the ballot over residency issues in 2008. He later challenged U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in a Republican primary in 2024 and briefly considered a run for an open Panhandle seat last year. But after GOP U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn announced his retirement, Gross was the first candidate to file in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the community where he was born.

Running in a conservative district where more than 58 percent of voters supported Trump’s reelection in 2024, Gross has not often highlighted his sexuality. He’s married to Scott Marr, the owner of a window and installation company in the district, where Gross runs a successful law firm.

He picked up an endorsement in April from the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation’s most prominent LGBTQ+ Republican organization. He discussed that briefly with The Wakulla Chronicle, where he welcomed the support and distanced himself from the fight for transgender rights.

“I would say they’re more of an LGB group,” he said of Log Cabin. “Trans-ideology is far outside of what most normal gays espouse. I do welcome their endorsement, and I welcome the endorsement of any group that wants to help us elect America First candidates.”

His campaign released a poll to Florida Politics this week showing him leading an eight-candidate Republican field. Two other pollsters show him trailing social conservative Austin Rogers. But all agree the two candidates are leading the field and are within the margin of error of one another. State GOP Chair Evan Power and local school superintendent Jim Norton are both close behind. Whoever wins should be the favorite in the general election in November.

Related: LGBTQ+ candidates lose races for Florida legislature

Two gay men, one seat

Another of Florida’s few remaining Democratic seats will be open because of the announced retirement of U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson. Two gay men, Jones and Meek, are among the six-candidate Democratic field fighting for the party’s nomination in Florida’s 24th Congressional District.

Jones has already made history in Florida politics as the first out official ever elected to the Florida Senate. He won his seat in 2020 in the face of openly homophobic attacks. That win notably came two years after he came out while serving in the Florida House, which made him the first out Black person in the Florida Legislature. He feels confident heading into this month’s Democratic primary that he can make history once again.

"When I first ran for the Florida Senate, a lot of people said the Black community would never elect an openly gay candidate. They were wrong,” he said. “The people I serve have always judged me by my values, my work, and whether I put their needs first. That's the same approach I'm taking in this race.”

Meek’s family is no stranger to making history, either. His grandmother, Carrie Meek, was one of three Black members of Congress elected in Florida in 1992, marking the first time since Reconstruction that Florida sent a Black U.S. representative to Congress. She was also the first Black woman to serve in the Florida Senate before entering Congress. Her son, Kendrick Meek Sr., the younger Meek’s father, was later elected to her seat. Now the younger Kendrick Meek aims to become a third-generation lawmaker as an out gay man.

Meek speaks of his grandmother often. “She opened the door for you know my father to run, for Fredrica Wilson, who's the current seat holder to run, and eventually for me to run,” he told The Advocate. “We wouldn't have a Black district in Florida here if it weren't for her. And I know that I can do the same thing for queer folks here in South Florida. That I can open the door for them to serve openly, not just on the local, the state — but on the federal level too — it's just-it's a really historic moment. And again, it's just the beginning, not the end.”

Meek serves on the board of SAVE LGBTQ, one of Florida’s most prominent LGBTQ organizations. Meanwhile, Jones has earned the endorsement of Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.

Wilson, meanwhile, has endorsed Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, who has also spent the most in the race. Could Jones and Meek split the LGBTQ vote?

“It's possible,” Meek acknowledged. “But you know, folks have a choice, and I'm glad that we do. And that you know two openly gay candidates can be running for office, I'm glad that that's possible, not just here in South Florida, but in the Democratic Party.”

Both Meek and Jones said they are focusing more on issues affecting the lives of their constituents as they make the case that they deserve the job. But neither dismisses the importance of the race in LGBTQ+ history.

“Representation matters because it shows people you don't have to fit someone else's expectations to earn the trust of your community,” Jones said. “You earn it by showing up, delivering results, and always putting the people you serve first."

Related: Have LGBTQ+ rights in Florida reached a turning point? Advocates have hope

The odds?

Matthew Isbell, an out Democratic strategist, considers Jones a front-runner in his South Florida congressional race. "I think that primary is really between him and Gilbert, and the limited polling says as much,” he told The Advocate. “I don't think Meek is likely to win the primary."

He says Manley may have a harder time, as four Black candidates remain in the race and there hasn’t been a clear consolidation behind a single choice, while Wasserman Schultz has the most money to spend. But he said Manley still has a shot in the race.

Isbell concedes he keeps "forgetting Gross is gay." "His self-funding is why he has a shot for sure; otherwise I don't think he would. Similar to Manley with CD 20, I'd say he has a shot, but it's hard to peg a real front-runner."

He said the number of viable candidates shows there is a real chance to make history and that it "seems likely we will get at least one openly gay congressman."