Uncle Luke announces CD 20 candidacy, says residents there are ‘very underserved’

Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell is jumping back into electoral politics.

The Miami bass pioneer and First Amendment champion just announced that he will run for Florida’s 20th Congressional District, pitching himself as a celebrity-turned-civic activist who can convert decades of community work into a Democratic Primary win and substantive action in Washington.

Campbell, 65, announced his plans during a Sunday appearance on WPLG-Channel 10’s “This Week in South Florida,” telling host Glenna Milberg that he had set Feb. 15 as a deadline to decide and is now in.

He released an official statement Monday.

“After decades of fighting for my community — from the courtroom defending free speech all the way to the United States Supreme Court, to building businesses that created jobs across the South, to mentoring and coaching thousands of young people into college — I have officially decided to run for Congress in Florida’s 20th District. My first order of business is to qualify by petition and let the people speak,” he said.

“For more than 35 years, I have worked on the ground in Liberty City and throughout South Florida — co-founding Liberty City Optimist, partnering with city and county leaders, building relationships with corporate sponsors, and helping hundreds of thousands of young people access education and opportunity through sports and mentorship. I’ve done the work. I have the relationships. And I know how to get things done. There is no one else in this race who has demonstrated the ability to build, fight, and deliver for this community the way I have.”

The CD 20 seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat first elected in 2022 who has been plagued since by accusations of financial impropriety that in November led to a grand jury indictment.

Campbell said he has been meeting residents across CD 20, which spans parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, and concluded the area is “very underserved.” He believes constituents “want to be able to engage with their Congressperson,” and Cherfilus-McCormick isn’t providing them that.

Cherfilus-McCormick pushed back in a written statement quoted by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She said challengers have every right to run against her, but insisted, “My record speaks for itself.”

But Cherfilus-McCormick’s record now also includes official charges brought against her for allegedly misappropriating $5 million in disaster relief funds to finance her 2022 congressional campaign.

The allegations mirror those investigated by the House Ethics Committee. The Office of Congressional Conduct released a report in May 2025 saying the Congresswoman may have violated federal law.

If found guilty on all counts, the 46-year-old lawmaker — who made history as the first Haitian American Democrat elected to Congress — could face up to 53 years in prison. She denies any wrongdoing.

Campbell, in hoping to supplant Cherfilus-McCormick, argues he brings a powerful combination of business savvy, publicity experience, deep community roots and a penchant for cross-aisle collaboration.

“Who’s going to be able to go talk to Marco Rubio? Who’s going to be able to go talk to Donald Trump? Me,” he said, adding that he has the U.S. Senator-turned-Secretary of State “on speed dial.”

Campbell is no stranger to the ballot, though his electoral résumé is brief. In the 2011 Miami-Dade County mayoral Special Election, he finished fourth in the first round and did not advance to the runoff won by Carlos Giménez.

He also previously flirted with a congressional bid, filing paperwork to run against Cherfilus-McCormick in April 2024 before ultimately choosing not to run later that month. Cherfilus-McCormick went on to win re-election unopposed.

Now, Campbell is betting his name recognition — built as 2 Live Crew’s frontman and later recast through years of local activism, youth sports and commentary — can translate into votes and campaign cash.

“I’m going to have a lot of money,” he said, predicting artists he has worked with will donate generously to his campaign.

Still, Campbell hardly faces a clear path to the General Election ballot. For starters, several other candidates are running in CD 20 too, including 26-year-old Generation Z candidate Elijah Manley, who is now leading Cherfilus-McCormick with voters, recent polling found.

Also complicating matters is the Florida GOP’s push, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, to redraw the borders of CD 20 and other safe Democratic districts ahead of this year’s elections, meaning the area the candidates are running to represent now could look much different on Election Day.

CD 20 currently spans a majority-Black area in and around western and central Broward County, with a small portion of southeast Palm Beach County. It includes all or part of Fort Lauderdale, Lake Park, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, North Lauderdale, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Riviera Beach, Sunrise and Tamarac.

It’s Florida’s most Democratic-leaning congressional district, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+22.

The 2026 Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.