Debbie Wasserman Schultz Survives Primary from Left
Former DNC chairwoman defeated Bernie Sanders-backed candidate

Former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz fended off a primary challenge from Bernie Sanders-backed law professor Tim Canova in Florida’s 23rd District on Tuesday night.
The incumbent won 57 percent of the vote to Canova’s 43 percent with 56 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.
Wasserman Schultz’s victory comes a little over a month after she resigned as head of the DNC after the party’s convention in Philadelphia. Hacked emails from the committee showed a few DNC staffers discrediting Sanders’ presidential campaign.
The Vermont senator’s supporters had long accused Wasserman Schultz and the DNC of favoritism toward his opponent, Hillary Clinton, throughout the presidential primary. Sanders called on Wasserman Schultz to resign after the publication of the hacked DNC emails.
She did not gavel in the convention in July, announcing her plan to resign on the eve of the Philadelphia confab.
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In one of Canova’s ads about the six-term congresswoman, he attacked her for “tipping the scales of democracy.”
Sanders backed Canova in the primary and sent fundraising emails on his behalf. With the help of small donors, Canova outraised Wasserman Schultz in the second quarter.
Wasserman Schultz received campaign visits and donations from her House Democratic colleagues, as well as from Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Patriot Majority, a Democratic super PAC, dropped more than $600,000 in the race on Wasserman Schultz’s behalf.
Sanders, on the other hand, never campaigned with Canova in the district, and the former presidential candidate’s media consultants quit the Canova campaign shortly after signing on.
Contact Pathé at simonepathe@rollcall.com and follow her on Twitter at @sfpathe.