WASHINGTON, D.C.—At a Wednesday Capitol Hill press conference, Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump struck an odd pair with rapper 50 Cent, where the attorney revealed he will endorse his former partner Daryl Parks for the Florida Senate District 3 seat.
Crump—who represented the families of murdered black men George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown in wrongful death cases—partnered with 50 Cent—who told reporters Wednesday he doesn't know who he will vote for in the presidential race—to represent an emerging industry: the minority booze market.
As the conference concluded, The Floridian asked: will he endorse his former law partner in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Corey Simon in SD 3, a once solidly blue district?
"Absolutely!" Crump laughed.
A powerful civil rights attorney, Crump throwing his support behind Parks, a Democrat, in SD 3 can be huge. The district encompasses 13 North Florida counties and during Florida's red-shifted 2022 elections, former NFL star Simon unseated the incumbent Democrat by just under 13,000 votes—becoming the district's first Republican Senator in over a decade.
That was 2022. Now, Simon faces two potential Democrat candidates: Crump-backed Parks—who raised over $100,000 in his first 24 hours after his campaign announcement—or Gadsden County Commissioner Eugene Kimblin Nesmith.
Nesmith and Parks will face off in the Democratic primary on August 20th. The winner will face Simon on November 5th, raising the question: can Parks return SD 3 to its formerly blue state?
