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.
My hope is that the field will quickly clear on our side for either Klein or Sink.
He gave up his leadership position for the incoming Congress, and I bet it is so he has time to campaign.
Obama’s not even President yet, and already a GOP Senator has decided the political climate is to toxic for him to survive him.
Here’s hoping GOP retirements in 2010 top those in 2008!
the last senator to quit after one term was dayton, who was pretty pathetic. what is martinez leaving? scandal? not enough power? tired of the senate?
Jeb Bush. I expected to see his name among the potential GOP candidates considering he left the governorship with appovals near 60%. Sink v Bush would be a really fun race to watch!
Leave aside the lack of any mention of her views – I don’t think somebody who passes on a tough race should be asked to reconsider when it gets easier. All that does is give you a candidate who lacks enthusiasm and is easier to scare into retirement if they win.
Nor is it clear she’d be a shoe-in. She has better name recognition than some others, but she’s hardly a state icon. This isn’t like Tom Udall, who was odds-on to win (and a seat on Appropriations is a better reason to pass than being Florida’s CFO.)
Of the options the party mentions, I like the sound of Dan Gelber. His biography sounds attractive (and a connection to Sam Nunn may help his image in North Florida), he did well in 2006 in winning State House seats and experience as Minority leader might prove useful in the Senate. And he even sounds reasonably progressive, although I could be wrong on that one.
On the flipside, he has just got a new job, but he’s still looks much better than Boyd or Meek and I have doubts whether the others will run.
Any chance that that Crist may step up?
According to the political pulse blog: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.c…
She was eyeing the governor’s race in 2014 and didn’t want to suffer from a polarizing race that could marginalize her ground with Hispanics. However if Jeb gets in this race is over… Bleh.
I turn on my TV and hear my local Fox News affiliate in Central FL breifly mention Martinez retiring. They phrased it something like “why would such a young, popular Senator with a bright future step down from his job? Stay tuned to Fox.”
Bright future?!? Popular Senator?!?! I swear, even the local Fox affiliates have become total crackpots.
For the unfamiliar, Putnmam is from Polk County, a largely rural area between Orlando and Tampa. I have a hard time seeing him appeal to Pinellas, Volusia, Osceola, or Orange Counties either, let alone Palm Beach, Broward, or Miami-Dade. Plus, if Sink runs, she could easily negate any I-4 strength Howdy Doody has b/c she’s from the corridor too.
I’m betting Sink will run on our side, and McCollum, Putnam, and whoever else will run on the GOP side.