Florida Rep. Files $1M Defamation Suit Against Primary Challenger

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has filed a defamation lawsuit against her 26-year-old primary challenger in Broward County circuit court.

The Broward congresswoman is seeking $1 million in damages, alleging that Elijah Manley "engaged in a pattern of making false and defamatory statements" in his campaign videos and published columns in the Sun Sentinel. Manley and the Cherfilus-McCormick are seeking the Democratic nomination for the District 20 seat, which represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, in the 2026 election.

"Through campaign videos on Instagram and published columns, [Manley] has deliberately spread malicious and false statements about [Cherfilus-McCormick], resulting in reputation harm and public discredit," the complaint states.

In her lawsuit, Cherfilus-McCormick points to a campaign video in which Manely said, 'You can't fight corruption with more corruption — or with representatives who are themselves under investigation for serious ethical violations." She argues that the statement, which clearly refers to herself, is false, malicious, and harms her reputation.

During his campaign, Manley has pointed to a U.S. House Ethics Committee report that found the congresswoman may have violated campaign finance laws and records that revealed that she used roughly $6 million in accidental overpayments from the state to her former healthcare company for her congressional run in 2022.

The congresswoman also says Manley defamed her in a Sun Sentinel letter to the editor when he referred to the "many ethical and legal scandals she brought to Congress." She claims that Manley has continued to "obsessively harass" her and falsely alleges that she is a "crook and a liar" on social media and in various publications. 

"Defendant Manley has repeatedly made false statements that he knows to be false and done it with the primary malicious purpose of causing injury to [Cherfilus-McCormick] in her activist, personal, and professional life," the complaint states. "All of [Manley's] aforementioned statements are not only completely false but done with the malicious purpose of inflicting harm.

In response to the lawsuit, Manley said in a statement that the right to criticize public officials is protected under the First Amendment. He noted that he's confident that the lawsuit will be dismissed.

"Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick is attacking her political opponent to deflect attention from the serious corruption investigation against her," he added. "This is a classic Trump tactic that will not help her defend her seat, will not help the people of South Florida, nor will it help her avoid scrutiny."