Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s summer from hell has been a hand-wrapped gift to her Bernie Sanders-backed primary opponent. But even her critics say it would take a miracle for the longtime Miami congresswoman and persona non grata of the progressive left to lose her seat in the Aug. 30 election.

The fallout from the embarrassing Democratic National Committee email leak last month was swift and severe, costing Wasserman Schultz her chairmanship on the eve of the party's national convention after five years in th at job. There’s quite a ways between that, however, and losing reelection: A fixture of South Florida politics for nearly a quarter-century, Wasserman Schultz remains the prohibitive favorite to beat Tim Canova and return to the House for a seventh term, according to recent polling and Florida political operatives.


“As much as I would like to say otherwise, I think his chances are pretty slim,” said Ben Pollara, a Democratic political consultant who once worked for Wasserman Schultz but is now a critic.

“I think on the basis of demographics, it doesn’t matter who the challenger is or what the issues are, barring something like an indictment, it’s her district,” he said. Pollara manages United for Care, a group backing the medical marijuana initiative that Wasserman Schultz has fought against.

Democratic party leaders snapped to attention in May after Canova, a relatively unknown newcomer, announced a $1 million fundraising haul just five months after officially launching his long - shot bid, mostly thanks to Sanders' soliciting money from his nationwide army of followers.

The Vermont senator endorsed Canova in May and has continued actively raising money for Canova since dropping out of the presidential race, the latest pitch to supporters going out Tuesday. Canova has also tapped the consulting firm that worked for Sanders during his presidential bid.

This week's fundraising blitz against Wasserman Schultz is just the latest jab in a months-long feud between Sanders and the Florida congresswoman, whom he repeatedly accused of trying to undermine his presidential campaign during her tenure at the DNC. The WikiLeaks emails provided evidence of her attitude toward Sanders: At one point , she called a top aide to the candidate a "damn liar," and in another missive, she expressed exasperation that the Vermont senator was running as a Democrat.

But Wasserman Schultz has a near stranglehold on the area she’s represented in Congress for more than a decade and in the Florida statehouse for many years before that. She’s the first Jewish congresswoman from Florida in a district that skews white, Democratic and Jewish.

“As much of a lightning rod as she’s become at the national level … this is still a district that voted for her up and down the ballot since 1992, when she first got elected to the statehouse,” said Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist who directed President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign in Florida and has known Wasserman Schultz for 20 years.

The WikiLeaks email embarrassment — thousands of stolen messages from top DNC staffers were published showing attempts to undermine Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary while Wasserman Schultz and others were publicly claiming to be neutral in the contest — could be a career ender for a less - seasoned lawmaker.

And Canova, Wasserman Schultz’s first congressional primary challenger ever, is a formidable opponent, say several longtime South Florida Democrats. A local law professor and former Capitol Hill staffer, Canova gained attention after being endorsed by Sanders (I-Vt.) and has built up an impressive war chest, relying heavily on small dollar donations.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduces Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as she stops by her campaign headquarters on August 9. | Getty

But it will take more than that to oust Wasserman Schultz, with her name recognition in the district and network of powerful friends in Democratic politics. Just this week, Hillary Clinton endorsed Wasserman Schultz for reelection during a campaign swing through South Florida , and Obama announced his support for her in March.

“She's my favorite person," Vice President Joe Biden told reporters during a weekend fundraiser for her campaign, adding that she has been a “vital partner” to the Obama administration.

Other Democratic bigwigs are lining up to stump for her ahead of the primary, too.

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband , Mark Kelly , will hold a gun - control event with Wasserman Schultz on Thursday , and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will be in her district Friday. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon who led the House Democrats’ sit-in over the gun-control issue earlier this summer, is also expected to campaign for Wasserman Schultz before the primary.

“It shouldn’t be surprising that Debbie’s colleagues are rallying around her, which for me and several of her colleagues is a no-brainer,” said Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch, who represents a southern Florida district just north of the one represented by Wasserman Schultz.

And though Wasserman Schultz’s future role in the Democratic Party is unclear — several sources questioned whether she’d be content as a rank-and-file member if she wins re election — Deutch and others interviewed for this story cite her longtime representation of the district as key heading into the primary.

Others say the DNC controversy just doesn’t play the same way in her district as it did in Washington.

“I think sometimes we all get caught up in the merit of these national races and the DNC stuff , and you tend to forget that these local races are decided by largely local factors,” Schale said.

Canova’s fundraising alone makes him formidable. His $2.3 million haul would be impressive for an incumbent , let alone a first-time candidate. But the Sanders endorsement isn’t likely to help him much in a district where nearly 70 percent of voters backed Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary.

Canova maintains he’s gaining ground, citing a recent internal campaign poll showing him 8 points behind Wasserman Schultz (a separate poll from a super PAC backing the congresswoman had her up 33 points).

Wasserman Schultz's campaign announced Wednesday she would debate Canova on the local CBS affiliate's Sunday morning show , "Facing South Florida," a showdown he's been requesting for weeks.

Canova argues that Wasserman Schultz has lost touch with the district after a decade in Washington, citing her opposition to medical marijuana and dinging her for missing votes. A SunSentinel analysis found she had the second-worst attendance record among members of Florida’s congressional delegation in 2015 and she introduced just a handful of bills last year.

“I wouldn’t believe a thing she says. You take a look at the WikiLeaks and it’s a pattern of saying one thing and doing another,” Canova, 56, said.

Wasserman Schultz’s campaign spokesman Ryan Banfill said she’s voted nearly 95 percent of her time in Congress and was “97 percent the year she battled cancer and had seven surgeries and procedures.” He was referring to her successful battle with breast cancer in 2008.

Canova released an ad hitting Wasserman Schultz for repeatedly dodging questions about debating him, and liberal nonprofit Allied Progress rolled out an ad earlier this year questioning her connections to the payday lending industry.

But Florida operatives said the ads likely won’t change much in a district that's been “Clinton country” and going back to 1992, when Bill Clinton beat George H.W. Bush in Broward and Dade counties but narrowly lost Florida.

“The Clintons have been coming there for 30 years now … and the fundamentals of the district benefit somebody who is in Clinton-world. It’s an older, whiter district. That’s not really Sanders’ territory,” Schale said.

“If there actually is a district in Florida that wouldn’t really care if the DNC rigged [the Democratic presidential primary], it would be there.”