Rep. Frederica Wilson, 83-year-old Florida Democrat, announces she will not seek re-election

May 29, 2026

Rep. Frederica Wilson, an 83-year-old Florida Democrat, announced she will not seek re-election for her 24th Congressional District seat. A former educator, Wilson timed her announcement to protect her deep-blue district after redistricting. She plans to promote her 5000 Role Models program instead of fully retiring. Her departure is part of a trend of senior lawmakers leaving Congress amid calls for generational change.

Wilson retirement announcement

▪Frederica Wilson made her announcement during a ceremony naming a Miami Gardens street in her honor.
▪Frederica Wilson recently underwent eye surgery and missed a month of votes in the spring of 2026.
▪Frederica Wilson represents Florida’s 24th Congressional District.
▪Frederica Wilson is the 60th House lawmaker in the current cycle to announce they are retiring or running for higher office.
▪Rep. Frederica Wilson, an 83-year-old Democrat, announced on May 29, 2026, that she will not seek re-election.

Wilson education career

▪A school in Miami Gardens, Dr. Frederica S. Wilson/Skyway Elementary School, is named after Frederica Wilson.
▪Before Congress, Frederica Wilson was a public school teacher and principal in Miami Gardens.
▪In 2020, Frederica Wilson and Sen. Marco Rubio created a commission to study the social status of Black men and boys, which President Trump signed into law.
▪Frederica Wilson served on the Miami-Dade County School Board and in the Florida state House and Senate before her 2010 election to the U.S. House.
▪As a student at Fisk University, Frederica Wilson was a Civil Rights Movement activist who heard Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speak.

5000 Role Models program

▪Frederica Wilson stated she will not retire but will travel to promote her 5000 Role Models program.
▪The 5000 Role Models program, founded by Frederica Wilson, aims to help boys and young men of color.

Congressional generational change

▪At 83, Frederica Wilson was part of a group of senior lawmakers in their 80s and 90s who had planned to run for another term in 2026.

Florida redistricting strategy

▪The filing deadline to run in the August 18 primary to replace Frederica Wilson is June 12.
▪Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones will seek Frederica Wilson's seat, and State Rep. Ashley Gantt will seek Jones's vacated state senate seat.
▪Frederica Wilson's Miami congressional district lost its coastal areas in recent redistricting but remained a "deep blue" Democratic stronghold.

Wilson-Trump conflicts

▪Frederica Wilson said President Trump told the soldier's widow that her husband "knew what he signed up for."
▪President Trump responded on social media by calling Frederica Wilson "wacky" and accusing her of lying about the call.
▪In 2017, Frederica Wilson clashed with President Donald Trump over his condolence call to the widow of a U.S. soldier killed in Niger.
▪Frederica Wilson skipped votes following the 2017 incident with President Trump, citing threats she received for her criticism.