Phil Ehr’s CD 28 campaign joins Democracy Summer student organizer program

Retired Navy Commander Phil Ehr’s congressional campaign is signing up student organizers this Summer under a national Democratic program to which he’s adding a first-ever Spanish-language component.

The program, Democracy Summer, is a six-week fellowship founded by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and expanded in partnership with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Its goal: to train the next generation of Democratic organizers and activists.

Ehr’s campaign says it will be the first in the program’s history to include a dedicated Spanish-language organizing component.

“This program is about building the next generation of civic leaders right here in South Florida — and making sure communities like ours receive the same national investment and attention as any other part of the state. Florida’s 28th Congressional District is one of the most diverse, dynamic, and politically important districts in the country, and our young people deserve a seat at the table,” Ehr said.

“We’re especially proud that our campaign’s Democracy Summer program will be the first to incorporate a dedicated Spanish-language organizing component, helping us better engage the communities that shape Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys every single day. At a time when voting rights, public education, economic opportunity, and trust in our institutions are all under pressure, we need young people ready to organize, lead, and defend democracy from the ground up.”

The fellowship runs June 22 through Aug. 7 and is open to high school and college students from across South Florida.

Fellows will train in community organizing, voter registration and engagement, phone and text banking, canvassing and digital communications while gaining firsthand campaign experience in CD 28, which spans part of Miami-Dade and all of Monroe County.

The program also includes virtual seminars featuring prominent elected officials, legal scholars and advocates. Past speakers have included U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe and the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

The Democracy Summer announcement comes as Ehr navigates a complicated Primary environment. His Primary opponent, Hector Mujica, a former Google executive who entered the race in April after leaving a U.S. Senate bid, is facing questions about whether he can legally appear on the Democratic Primary ballot.

Voter registration records from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections show Mujica switched his party affiliation from Democrat to no party affiliation on June 4, 2025, before switching back on July 26, 2025 — a roughly seven-week gap that may run afoul of a new state law requiring partisan candidates to have been registered members of their party for at least 365 consecutive days before qualifying.

Mujica’s campaign has said the switch was a clerical or administrative error he did not authorize, but has provided nothing to substantiate that explanation. Florida Politics has requested additional information from the Broward Supervisor of Elections.

Ehr’s campaign, meanwhile, has filed a complaint against Mujica with the Florida Elections Commission.

Ehr, who received several new endorsements last month  spanning elected officials, veterans, civil rights advocates and faith leaders, is also working to untangle a campaign finance-reporting snag that left his first-quarter fundraising absent from Federal Election Commission records due to a committee setup error.

The winner of the Aug. 18 Democratic Primary faces Republican incumbent Carlos Giménez, who has represented CD 28 since 2020 after serving as Miami Fire Chief, City Manager, County Commissioner and County Mayor.

The General Election is Nov. 3.

Students interested in applying for the Democracy Summer fellowship under Ehr can do so at the campaign’s application page. Former federal prosecutor Robin Peguero’s campaign for Florida’s 27th Congressional District is also participating in the program.