Barbara Sharief assembles large group of prominent supporters for second Florida Senate campaign

Anthony Man, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·3 min read
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Barbara Sharief, who unsuccessfully attempted to oust state Sen. Lauren Book last year, has assembled a wide-ranging list of supporters for her 2024 campaign — including some people who sided with Book or other past election opponents.

The 20 elected officials Sharief’s campaign said Wednesday are supporters include two countywide elected officials, four county commissioners, four city mayors and 10 city commissioners, plus five former elected officials and a roster of prominent political fundraisers, lobbyists and political activists.

Sharief is a former Miramar city commissioner and former Broward County commissioner who was twice chosen by her fellow commissioners to serve one-year terms as county mayor.

She’s also had two unsuccessful races. In 2021, she lost a special Democratic congressional primary and in 2022 she lost to Book.

The Book-Sharief contest, decided in an August election last year, was the most hotly contested race of the summer in Broward.

The 35th state Senate District, which lies mostly south of Interstate 595 and west of Florida’s Turnpike, entirely within Broward County.

Many Democratic elected officials — especially Democratic state senators — were infuriated by Sharief’s 2022 candidacy. Book is the Senate Democratic leader and because she was tied up in Broward County, she wasn’t able to perform the most important job of a party leader in the Legislature: traveling the state to raise money and help other candidates with their campaigns.

None of the people on Sharief’s list of supporters is in the Florida Legislature, where she hopes to serve.

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In a statement issued by Sharief’s campaign, County Commissioner Mark Bogen called her “a trailblazing public servant for the people of Broward County” who has “an accomplished record as an elected official, business owner, and healthcare professional. This has allowed her to serve our community with a business mindset and as an advocate for the people. She has a deep understanding of the issues we face in the state of Florida.”

Sharief, who has a doctorate in nursing practice, is founder and CEO of South Florida Pediatric Homecare.

Sharief’s supporters include Broward Clerk of Courts Brenda Forman; State Attorney Harold Pryor; Commissioners Bogen, Robert McKinzie, Hazelle Rogers and Tim Ryan; mayors Joy Cooper of Hallandale Beach, Tamara E. James of Dania Beach, Frank Ortis of Pembroke Pines and Judy Paul of Davie.

Paul and Ortis endorsed Book last year, as did former state Sen. Perry Thurston, who is with Sharief for 2024.

Other Sharief backers include Mitchell Berger, the Fort Lauderdale lawyer who is a major national Democratic Party fundraiser; Ron Bergeron, a Republican who is CEO of the Bergeron Family of Companies, an Everglades champion and member of the South Florida Water Management District board; Broward Democratic Chair Rick Hoye and state Democratic committeewoman Grace Carrington.

Though Book and Sharief are both Democrats, the August election — held at the same time as the party primaries — was open to all voters, regardless of party, because no Republican or independent ran for the seat. Sharief received 39.7% of the vote to 60.3% for Book.

Book can’t run again because of term limits and open seats often attract large fields of candidates. So far, no other candidates have come forward to run, though other potential candidates have been considering it, and have plenty of time.

Sharief announced her candidacy three weeks after the August 2022 primary. She plans to more formally kick off her campaign on Thursday with a fundraiser in Fort Lauderdale.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com, on Twitter @browardpolitics and on Post.news/@browardpolitics.