Gilbert wins Democratic primary for open Wilson House seat in Florida
The Hill · C · trust 52/100
Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 08/18/26 8:34 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 08/18/26 8:34 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Oliver Gilbert, Miami-Dade County commissioner, is expected to advance to the November general election after winning the Democratic primary for Florida’s 24th Congressional District seat currently held by retiring Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), according to preliminary results from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).
Gilbert defeated six other Democratic candidates who all vied to succeed Wilson and lead the deep-blue district. Wilson opened up the seat after she announced on May 29 her intention to retire at the end of her term.
The commissioner told CBS News Miami that his record, in addition to serving as the mayor of Miami Gardens, makes him uniquely qualified to win Wilson’s seat.
“I actually had to do something,” Gilbert told the outlet. “I had to build something. I had to be responsible for actually creating things for people.”
Wilson endorsed Gilbert in June, saying at an event in Miami Gardens that the district needs “somebody who’ll fight just like I fought,” Florida Politics reported.
“I know what families here are up against, because I have lived it,” he said at the same event, according to Florida Politics. “Rent that eats half a paycheck. Healthcare people cannot afford. A commute that swallows the day. I am running to change that. Not with promises, but with work. I am humbled to have her trust, and I will work every day to be worthy of it.”
Wilson entered the House in 2011, representing the 17th District at the time. She garnered attention when one of her district’s constituents, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed, drawing national outcry. Wilson has said she knew Martin’s family all her life.
The Florida Democrat has been active on social media, though she has not voted in the House since April. She released a statement in May saying she had undergone eye surgery but had not stopped working. By June, Wilson had missed 44.5 percent of the votes in 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Gilbert is expected to face off against the presumptive Republican nominee, real estate developer Te Mayonna Brown, in November.
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