Stanley Cambell will challenge Republican Sen. Rick Scott. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTIN DOWNS COUNTRY CLUB

MIAMI – The brother of a local popular rap artist is seeking to enter the political arena.

Stanley Campbell, a former Navy pilot and owner of a golf course in Palm City, Florida, is running for the U.S. Senate.

Campbell, the brother of rapper and record executive Luther Campbell who founded the group Two Live Crew, filed papers to run for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Rick Scott.

Campbell, 68, joins a crowded field of candidates seeking the party’s nomination but their top choice to face Scott is former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell who Democrats recruited to challenge the senator.

Other candidates also vying for the Democratic nomination include businessman Matt Boswell, former Navy man Phil Ehr, former U.S. Reps. Alan Grayson and Brian Rush, U.S. Army combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient Rod Joseph and engineer Donald Horan.

Campbell couldn’t be reached for comments.

According to his bio, Campbell and his brother Luther Campbell both grew up in Liberty City, one of the poorest communities in Miami.

While his brother went on to become a D.J. for high school dances and community parties, Stanley Campbell enrolled at Florida A&M University and as a 19-year-old wrote the data reduction and aero-analysis for the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

He then spent 8½ years as a Navy pilot after working briefly at NASA and founded a number of companies,

including one that developed the artificial intelligence software that helped authorities capture Dennis Rader, the “BTK” strangler.

One of Campbell’s businesses, EagleForce, specializes in health records and created a digital platform called “myVax,” which was left in the lurch in 2021 when Gov. Ron DeSantis banned vaccine passports amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s not really a political football, which is what they keep using this thing as,” Campbell told The New York Times. “It’s sad because Florida could lead the nation in this if we just took a minute to talk and think it through.”

In 2021, Campbell, an avid golfer, and his wife, Cheryl, purchased the Martin Downs Golf Club, which was

placed on the auction block.

Cheryl Campbell, serves as assistant secretary for administration in the Department of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden and she is also the founder and CEO of the Eagle Warrior Foundation, which supports veterans and their families who are recovering in the Defense Department’s critical care facilities.

Being one of a few Black golf course owners in Martin County, the Campbells experienced racist attacks. In one instance, vandals spray-painted messages of hate against Black and Jewish people at the golf club but that didn’t deter Campbell. The graffiti was removed, and he continued to maintain the golf course without interruption.

Luther Campbell, a mainstay of Hip Hop music, also tried his hand at politics when he unsuccessfully ran for Miami-Dade County mayor in 2011 in a special election.

Then-Mayor Carlos Alvarez was recalled by a record margin and Campbell launched a campaign to succeed Alvarez.

Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez won the election but Campbell finished in fourth place among 11 candidates.

Luther Campbell gave his support to his brother on his bid for the U.S. Senate.

“Go for it,” Campbell said on social media.

The Democratic Primary is Aug. 20, 2024 and the general election is set for Nov. 5, 2024.