A new, bipartisan political action committee focused on strengthening U.S. global aid is throwing its support behind Democrat Elijah Manley’s bid for Florida’s 20th Congressional District.
The Alliance 4 American Leadership, founded by Palm Beach resident Asher Moss after the dissolution of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), endorsed Manley at its launch party in the county over the weekend.
A press note from Manley’s campaign said the PAC now has more than 1,000 volunteers nationwide, including “a significant presence” in South Florida.
“We are the political force that will restore global aid,” Moss, who serves as Executive Director of the PAC, said in a statement. “We believe America should be a humanitarian leader on the world stage. A force for good.”
Manley, accepting the endorsement, agreed foreign aid is important, calling South Florida “the gateway to the rest of the world.”
“It matters for trade, for immigration and for our economy,” he said. “What’s happening in Haiti and Venezuela shows why the United States must lead on the global stage, not just through military force, but by supporting people who are going through the struggle.”
Manley has called on the federal government to restore USAID and increase its program spending to 2% of the federal budget.
He is one of two Democrats running to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted last month on charges that she stole federal COVID funds to finance her 2021 congressional campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick maintains she is innocent and has separately sued Manley and her Primary opponent, Dale Holness, for defamation, alleging that they included the accusations she faces in campaign communications.
Two Republicans, Sendra Dorce and Joseph Rodenay, are also running this cycle.
CD 20 spans a majority-Black area in and around western and central Broward County, with a small portion of southeast Palm Beach County. It includes all or part of Fort Lauderdale, Lake Park, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, North Lauderdale, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Riviera Beach, Sunrise and Tamarac.
It’s Florida’s most Democratic-leaning congressional district, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+22.
The 2026 Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.
