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 bidA minority seat redrawnManley 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 congressi