Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)

Why She Matters

Wasserman Schultz is one of the youngest, fastest-rising Democrats in the House.  Thanks to her intelligence and ambition – not to mention prodigious fundraising abilities – Wasserman Schultz has quickly climbed the congressional leadership ladder, landing the position of House Democratic chief deputy wip and the chairmanship of the Legislative Branch subcommittee of the powerful House Appropriations Committee in only her second term.  

Wasserman Schultz caught the attention of the Democratic Party leadership before she was even elected to the House by gifting $100,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) during her inaugural bid for Congress, an unprecedented donation for a non-incumbent.  Since then she has proved an exceptional fundraiser, a skill she has used to help regain and maintain the House Democrats’ majority.  In 2010, she will serve as one of three DCCC vice-chairmen.

Wasserman Schultz also makes friends easily.  She met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), then the House minority leader, more than a year before the Floridian’s 2004 election, forging an enduring relationship that has facilitated Wasserman Schultz’s rapid rise.  She also impressed House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) to gain her House leadership roles.  Engaging and often out-spoken, Wasserman Schultz is beloved by the Washington press corps for her friendliness and accessibility.O’Conner, Patrick, “Who’s the next Rahm?” Politico, March 25, 2009. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20463.html

Florida’s 20th Congressional District is one of the most heavily Jewish districts in the country, which makes Wasserman Schultz an important figure when it comes to reaching out.  During the Democratic presidential primaries, Wasserman Schultz became a liason to the Jewish community first as a diehard supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton, and later as a surrogate for Barack Obama once he became the presumptive nominee.
 

Path to Power

Wasserman Schultz grew up on Long Island where she was a frequent loser of student council races.  In 1984 she began college at the University of Florida, where she earned a B.A. in 1988, and an M.A. in 1990, both in political science. After graduation she worked as an aide to Florida state Rep. Peter Deutsch (D), an early political mentor whose state House seat she ran for and won in 1992.

At the age of 26, Wasserman Schultz was the youngest woman ever elected to the Florida House where she served for eight years, two as the minority leader.  She subsequently served for four years as a state senator.  During her time in the state legislature, Wasserman Schultz passed significant legislation that increased insurance coverage for women’s health care, raised funding for public education, outlawed sex traffickingand established life-saving regulations on private swimming pools.

In 2004, when then-U.S. Rep. Deutsch abandoned his House seat to make an (ultimately unsuccessful) bid for retiring Sen. Bob Graham’s (D) U.S. Senate seat, Wasserman Schultz once again followed in Deutsch’s footsteps and snapped up the open House seat.  Perhaps because of early pledges of support and impressive fundraising (she had raised $115,000 by July 2003), Wasserman Schultz did not face an opponent in the August 2004 Democratic primary, and she handily defeated her Republican opponent, 70 to 30 percent, in the general election.  In this heavily Democratic district, Wasserman Schultz has never had trouble getting re-elected.All biographical information taken from National Journal’s Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition, and Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s official website. http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/bio.htm

Her considerable fundraising combined with an uncompetitive race left Wasserman Schultz with plenty of cash-on-hand leading up to her 2004 election, so in June she donated $100,000 to the DCCC, the first ever six-digit donation from a non-incumbent.O'Connor, Patrick, “Wasserman Schultz to give DCCC $100,000,” The Hill, June 15, 2004. The donation helped pave the way for Wasserman Schultz’s committee assignments; as a freshman from a relatively safe Democratic seat, she nabbed a seat on the powerful House Financial Services Committee to begin what the Miami Herald termed “the political fairy tale of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.”Reinhard, Beth, “Young congresswoman making her mark in Washington, D.C.” The Miami Herald, Oct. 23, 2005.

When Democrats regained control of the House in 2006, Wasserman Schultz became a true rising star.  She was tapped to serve as House Democrats’ chief deputy whip, and became a “cardinal” of the Appropriations Committee by chairing the Legislative Branch subcommittee.  She also sits on theJudiciary Committee.Almanac of American Politics.

In subsequent elections, Wasserman Schultz has continued to contribute financially to the DCCC. In the 2006 and 2008 cycles, she co-chaired the “Red to Blue” campaign to help Democrats take back and maintain their House majority by supporting promising challengers in Republican districts.  She has been named one of three vice-chairs of the DCCC for 2010, and will manage incumbent retention for House Democrats.Toeplitz, Shira and Josh Kurtz. “Wasserman Schultz to Head Incumbent Effort,” Roll Call, Dec. 9, 2008. http://www.rollcall.com/issues/54_63/atr/30656-1.html

The Issues

In her first term in the House, Wasserman Schultz grabbed the national media spotlight during the debate over critically-injured Florida patient Terri Schiavo. She fiercely opposed President George W. Bush and House Republicans by arguing that Congress would set a dangerous precedent if it intervened in the Schiavo case.  An early legislative accomplishment was the designation of the month of May as Jewish American Heritage Month, a measure which passed unanimously in the House.Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s official website. http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/bio.htm

Wasserman Schultz has generally been a reliably liberal voter, though her views on the Middle East are more centrist.  She has voted 98.9 percent of the time with her House Democratic colleagues in the 111th Congress.Washington Post Votes Database http://projects.washingtonpost.com/c...mbers/w000797/

The Network

Months before the 2004 Democratic primary in her first House race, Wasserman Schultz gained the support of then-Minority Leader Pelosi,Almanac of American Politics. and said she would do everything possible to see Pelosi named House speaker.O'Connor, Patrick, “Wasserman Schultz to give DCCC $100,000,” The Hill, June 15, 2004. Pelosi has praised Wasserman Schultz’s intelligence and diligence,Newton-Small, Jay, “The Hotshots: 5 Democrats to Watch; The Mother of Three: Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” Time, Aug. 21, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/specials/pa...834712,00.html but in deference to the seniority system has decided not to promote her further for now. O’Conner, Patrick, “Who’s the next Rahm?” Politico, March 25, 2009. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20463.html

Once in the House, Wasserman Schultz’s rapid rise is attributable in part to the positive impression she made on Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who tapped her as a chief deputy whip.  And she owes her Appropriations “cardinal” position to her good relationship with House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.).

Wasserman Schultz was an early and vigorous supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.  Even in April 2008, as Barack Obama gained support, Wasserman Schultz worked hard to convince uncommitted congressional colleagues not to join the growing ranks of Obama’s super-delegates.Harwood, John, “Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz On Being Clinton Super-D,” CNN.com, April 4, 2008. http://www.cnbc.com/id/23959633/

After Obama won the Democratic nomination, however, she fully supported his candidacy and acted as a political surrogate in defending his positions on Israel and the Middle East to the American Jewish community.  Asked about her previous support of Clinton, Wasserman Schultz said, “I have 100 percent confidence in his [Obama’s] ability to be president. I'm 100 percent behind him. I'm not looking wistfully back at what might have been.”Goldsmith, Brian, “Dem Rep.: Obama Right On The Surge” (interview with Wasserman Schultz), CBS News online, July 28, 2008. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...=related_story