FL-Sen: Rep. Connie Mack (R) Expected to Announce Bid Tomorrow – or Maybe Not?

That’s Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV to his friends:

Florida Rep. Connie Mack is expected to announce he’s running for U.S. Senate Friday.

A release is billing the 10 a.m. rollout at the county courthouse in Ft. Myers as a “major announcement regarding the 2012 race . . . against liberal incumbent Bill Nelson.”

Mack will be the third official Republican to enter the campaign, following former Col. Mike McCalister and Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

I’m personally a bit surprised to see Mack get in this early, but maybe he thinks he can kinda-sorta clear the field this way (and dry up the stumbling Haridopolos’s fundraising, if it hasn’t already done so on its own). But despite his natural advantages, he’s not a perfect conservative, and the teabaggers always sniff blood.

UPDATE: WHOA! Stop the presses! Literally! Josh Kraushaar is tweeting that Mack will NOT be running, and, believe it or not, that his big announcement tomorrow will consist of an endorsement of Haridopolos:

Top FL GOP source says Mack NOT running for Senate, likely running for re-election instead…

Buzz is that he will be endorsing Haridopolos at announcement tomorrow

UPDATE 2: Ugh, jeez. Kraushaar takes it all back.

72 thoughts on “FL-Sen: Rep. Connie Mack (R) Expected to Announce Bid Tomorrow – or Maybe Not?”

  1. Is the Florida GOP becoming as much of a clusterf*ck as Florida Dems? Has he been included in any polls? Can he really beat Bill Nelson?

  3. Let’s really see what we can do, 5 candidates, maybe 10.  I hope the whole GOP house dleegation hops in.

    With haridopolis supposedly being a really good fundraiser and Mack polling well, this could be quite the primary.  

    And its a late primary too, isn’t it?  if so I pity the poor Floridians when w/r/t political ads in Sumemr/Fall 2012, they might not even have shows on TV just 30 minute political ads over and over…

  5. With Haridopolos or any Tea Partier, though, this could be as good as Likely D. Nelson’s not in a weak position at all, but Obama may be weak atop the ballot and Mack is a strong candidate. I suspect the GOP primary will be quite costly, however.  

  6. will be facing that nastiest of charges in 2012 in Florida.  “Medicare cuts”–that issue killed the democrats in Florida in 2010.  

    That issue was so potent in 2010 that an HMO executive was elected Governor.  I still shake my head at that.  The ads write themselves.

    Medicare cuts

    Cutting senior medigap benefits

    Seniors not getting access to medical care

    Older voters dumped the democrats in 2010 and what exactly will change that in 2012?  

  7. http://twitter.com/#!/HotlineJosh

    HotlineJosh Josh Kraushaar

    Top FL GOP source says Mack NOT running for Senate, likely running for re-election instead…

    HotlineJosh Josh Kraushaar

    Buzz is that he will be endorsing Haridopolos at announcement tomorrow

  8. Has anyone mentioned him for senate? He’d have no chance in the general, but that’s never stopped anybody. I actually think he would be a favorite in the primary, especially if he had two or more opponents to split the non-crazy vote.

  9. I hope this is true, the update. If it’s a big, expensive three-way match between LeMeiux, Haridopolos, and Hasner, that isn’t resolved until September 2012, and Nelson ends up running against Haridopolos, this is one less race we’ll have to worry about.  

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