After the election of Congresswoman Sheilla Cherfilus McCormick last January, the Haitian community of Florida will have the opportunity to make history in the U.S. Nearly a dozen candidates of Haitian origin have won the primary elections held in the state of Florida on August 23, 2022.
For the second consecutive time, Sheila Cherfilus McCornick won the primary with more than 45,052 votes or 65.5%. Her closest challenger, Dale Holness, received only 19,737 votes or 28.7%. Anika Tene Omphroy came in last with 5.8% of the vote. With this result, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is almost certain to represent the citizens of Florida’s Democratic-dominated 20th District.
Another major victory for the Haitian community in Florida is that of Naomi Blemur, candidate for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. An extremely important position. Having obtained 50.5% of votes, Naomi Blemur defeated Ryan Morales: 30% and Jacques Rene Gaillot Jr: 19.2%. She will face the Republican Wilton Simpson who easily defeated James Shaw with 64.7% of the votes for the former and 35.3% for the latter. The position has been held by a Democrat since 2019. Nikki Fried had not decided to run for the same position. She had preferred to run for the governor’s office, which the Democratic primary election was won by former governor Charlie Crist with 59.7% of the vote against only 35.3% for Nikki Fried.
For the position of commissioner of the second district of Miami Dade, two Haitian candidates will compete in the second round. Philippe Bien-Aimé and Marleine Bastien received 26% and 24% of the votes respectively, while William DC Clarke received 21% of the votes against 18% for Wallace Aristide, 7% for Joe Celestin and 4% for Minique Barley-Bayo. Four Haitians of Haitian origin ran for this position in a district dominated by Haitians.
Marleine Bastien has been active in the community for many years and intends to capitalize on her work and actions as a human rights activist to defeat Philippe Bien-Aimé, who is also very popular in the community. But the turn out was very low on August 23, 2022. Less than 20,000 people participated in the vote in a district of more than 720,000 people.
In District 108, Haitian-born Dotie Joseph won the primary with 10,086 votes (53%), followed by Michael Etienne, 4,973 votes (26%), and Roy Hardemon who received 3,805 votes (20%). She had held this very important position in the state of Florida since 2018. Like Sheila Cherfilus, Dotie Joseph is certain of her re-election, as her district is dominated by the Democratic Party.
At the judicial branch, candidates of Haitian descent also made a strong showing. Of the 7 circuit judgeships, 2 Haitian candidates won the election. In the 11th judicial circuit, group 3, Lody Jean won the elections with 151,177 votes or 57% of the votes against 114,940 votes (43%) for Teressa Maria Cervera. For his part, Fred Seraphin won the primary for the position of County Judge in Group 5 in Miami Dade. He won 150,390 votes (57%) against 115,780 votes (43%) for Renier Diaz de la Portilla.
In District 101, Marie Paule Woodson won the election to represent this district in the Florida House of Representatives in the general election. She received 74.1% of the vote against the Republican candidate Vincent Parlatore who received only 25.9%.
Born in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, Marie Paule Woodson emigrated to the United States in 1981 where she earned an associate degree in public administration from Miami Dade College, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Florida International University, and a master’s degree in public administration and management from the University of St. Thomas.