Democrat secures key primary endorsement in race for U.S. Sen. Rick Scott's seat

Other than former congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Democrats running for U.S. Senate against Rick Scott have been relatively low-key in a race to be determined in less than two months.

One of Mucarsel-Powell's opponents, though, hopes that will change with his announcement of a key endorsement.

Stanley Campbell, a Palm City businessman, has landed the state AFL-CIO's endorsement.

Rich Templin, director of politics and public policy at the AFL-CIO Florida, said the endorsement required a two-thirds vote by members at an endorsement conference over the weekend.

"This was a reflection of members wanting to do something new, something different," Templin said. "(Campbell's) answers showed a deep understanding of what our issues are in Washington, D.C."

They liked Campbell's background as a tech entrepreneur and former Navy pilot who "laid out a good plan for the election."

The Florida Future Labor Leaders, a group affiliated with the AFL-CIO, also posted about the endorsement on Facebook Sunday, stating the group "is proud to announce an official Florida AFL-CIO endorsement of Mr. Stanley Campbell to represent Florida in the U.S. Senate seat."

The AFL-CIO, which is a collection of 500 local labor unions and 10 councils in Florida, has more than 1 million members, counting retirees and families of members.

"I am beyond honored to have the working people of Florida behind my campaign," Campbell said. "They know I am their champion, with a lifetime of showing my willingness to fight for the working class and to revive the energy to take Florida back."

Mucarsel-Powell was shown leading Alan Grayson, a former Orlando congressman by a 43-to-12 margin in a Florida Atlantic University-Mainstreet Research poll taken on June 8-9. Grayson has since dropped out, leaving Campbell, former state Rep. Brian Rush and Rod Joseph, a combat veteran, to challenge her.

That same poll showed Mucarsel-Powell closing a gap that had Scott well ahead of her both in a previous FAU poll as well as others. The most recent poll showed Scott ahead 45 to 43, within the margin of error.

"Mucarsel-Powell was largely unknown in earlier surveys,” said Luzmarina Garcia, assistant professor of political science at FAU. “However, as voters have been introduced to her, she has been gaining in the race. If this trend holds, it could be close in November.”

Mucarsel-Powell was planning a news conference in Broward County Monday to discuss the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, overturning the Roe v. Wade precedent legalizing abortion nationwide.

She has announced dozens of endorsements from state and federally elected Florida officeholders, including U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel and Maxwell Frost, and labor unions the Florida CWA, SEIU Florida and American Federation of Government Employees.

AFL-CIO is Florida's largest labor union

Campbell said he spoke to the 2024 Committee of Political Education Endorsing Convention, joining other candidates in responding to a 30-page questionnaire, followed by a screening interview.

Campbell said he has been an advocate for the AFL-CIO for most of his adult life, after his father, Stanley Campbell, Sr., had worked as a school custodian.

"My father would be so proud of this moment. He was a union member for most of his working life," Campbell said. "When you're raised in a union family, you understand how critically important workers' rights are to the working class.".

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Democrat secures key primary endorsement in race for U.S. Sen. Rick Scott's seat