Tag: FL-Sen

A sadsack end for a truly sadsack politician. From the St. Petersburg Times:

Mel Martinez, a Cuban immigrant who came to America with nothing and rose to U.S. Housing Secretary and then U.S. Senator, just announced that he will not seek re-election after serving out the next two years of his term. Martinez, 62, said he made the announcement early to give the “many, qualified individuals” time to organize and prepare for the open seat election in 2010.

The potential candidates:

Martinez’s departure immediately set off speculation about potential successors, including whether Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink will reconsider her expected announcement that she would not run for Senate in 2010 and instead seek another term on the Cabinet.

Among the potential Republican candidates: Attorney General Bill McCollum, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, U.S. Reps. Adam Putnam and Vern Buchanan. Democratic names include Sink, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, state Sen. Dan Gelber, and U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, Allen Boyd, and Kendrick Meek.

From his extreme douchebaggery during the Terri Schiavo affair, to his ill-fated run at the top of the RNC, to his thoroughly mediocre job approval ratings, it was clear that the past four years haven’t been much fun for Martinez, so it’s not a huge shock that he’s decided to bail in 2010. It’s now just a question of who will run — the primaries on both sides, if 2004 is any indication, could get crowded pretty quickly.

Update: As for Alex Sink, she is apparently backing off from her planned re-election announcement in order to reassess the situation. Very good. For the GOP, state AG Bill McCollum says he’s considering a run.

Florida CFO Alex Sink won’t run against GOP Sen. Mel Martinez:

Florida’s chief financial officer, Alex Sink, has decided to run for a second term as CFO and forego a run against Martinez. She made the decision over the Thanksgiving weekend.

This is too bad — Sink was probably our best bet to torpedo the hopelessly mediocre Martinez. It looks like she has her eye on the Governor’s mansion when Crist is term-limited out of office in 2014.

Whoever runs in her place will likely be someone without statewide name recognition (e.g. Ron Klein), which will make this a bit tougher, but still doable with a good campaign. I wonder who Bob Menendez is calling tonight.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who is perhaps the strongest candidate Democrats currently have on their statewide bench (and the only one aside from Bill Nelson currently elected statewide), says the she’ll be making a decision shortly on her political future. From the St. Petersburg Times:

On the subject of politics, Sink promised a decision soon on her political future which could include running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mel Martinez in 2010, running for governor, or staying put, and perhaps preparing for a run for governor in 2014 when the office will be open.

“I’m going to make up my mind very soon,” Sink said. “It’s all about what’s best for me, and what’s best for the state.”

As for Martinez himself, The Hill notes that he hasn’t announced his intentions for 2010 (he will do so in January). While it may be unlikely, it wouldn’t totally shock me if Martinez decided not to run for another term.

Quinnipiac has released a new poll today testing the 2010 waters in Florida, and their numbers confirm what we’ve known for a long time: GOP Sen. Mel Martinez is in rough shape as his first term expires.

Only 36% believe that Martinez deserves to be re-elected, while 38% of voters say he does not. In a match-up against “the Democratic candidate”, Martinez only pulls in 36% of the vote to the Democrat’s 40%. His favorable rating is similarly lackluster: 31-28, with a plurality (37%) saying they haven’t heard enough to form an opinion of the man. Quinnipiac’s Peter Brown calls these numbers “not awful”, but that’s only true by perhaps a hair’s width of difference. They’re certainly not numbers that provide an incumbent with a sense of comfort two years out from his first re-election.

Of course, an opportunity like this one will only pan out if Dems can recruit a solid candidate — for my money, I think I’ll take state CFO Alex Sink. Sink has the highest name recognition and favorable rating of all the potential Senate candidates tested in this poll (Reps. Allen Boyd, Kendrick Meek, and state Senator-elect Dan Gelber being the others), but there are numerous other options available on the table right now.

Our next stop on the SSP Recruitment Express: Florida. Who would you like to see challenge Republican Sen. Mel Martinez and Gov. Charlie Crist in 2010? Or better yet, will Crist face a notable challenger at all?

Martinez surely won’t get off so lucky — his approval ratings are in the dumps, and Democrats are surely salivating over his seat. Who will be up to the challenge?

That’s what everybody’s sayin’.

Public Policy Polling takes another look at the 2010 Senate race (7/30-8/2, likely voters):

Bob Graham (D): 51

Mel Martinez (R-inc): 31

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D): 38

Mel Martinez (R-inc): 37

(MoE: ±3.5%)

These are match-ups that you helped pick, although I’m not sure if there’s anyone who really thinks that Bob Graham would bust out of his retirement in order to run again for the Senate. Still, it would be a romp if he was willing.

A late June poll from PPP showed Martinez tied with Dem Rep. Robert Wexler and trailing Florida CFO Alex Sink by six points. It looks like this one will be a top tier race in 2010.

One of the coolest things about Public Policy Polling is that they periodically ask their readers to submit names of possible candidates to test in 2010 Senate match-up polls. Over at their blog, PPP is asking for names to test against GOP crumb-bum Sen. Mel Martinez in a new poll to be conducted later this week.

Last month, they matched up Martinez with Florida CFO Alex Sink and Congressman Robert Wexler, and found the incumbent Senator’s numbers lagging. If you feel so inclined, I suggest dropping them a card and leaving the names of candidates you’d like to see tested against Martinez.

Personally, I’d be inclined to line up Martinez against Reps. Ron Klein and Kathy Castor, but you’re encouraged to put forth your own suggestions.

Public Policy Polling (6/26-29, likely voters):

Alex Sink (D): 37

Mel Martinez (R-inc): 31

Robert Wexler (D): 33

Mel Martinez (R-inc): 33

(MoE: ±3.6%)

Floridians really seem to dislike Mel Martinez. His approval rating is a dismal 23%, with 43% disapproving of his antics in Congress. This one is shaping up to be a major pick-up opportunity on the horizon, especially if we can get a top-tier recruit like Florida CFO Alex Sink to enter the race. It’s never too early to start thinking ahead to 2010.

Bonus finding: Obama leads McCain by 46-44 in the state.