Jeff Atwater decides against GOP Senate run (Florida)

The Palm Beach Post ^ | April 25, 2012 | George Bennett

[Clintonfatigued]

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has decided not to enter the Republican primary for U.S. Senate after briefly considering a late bid.

“As much as Carole and I are humbled by your calls, notes and messages to enter the US Senate race and carry our banner into the fight we believe we have a responsibility to finish the job Floridians elected us to do,” Atwater said in a weekend Facebook post. He’s less than 16 months into his four-year term as Florida CFO.

Atwater, a North Palm Beach resident, said last week he was mulling a Senate bid after being “asked by a number of people who I have tremendous respect for in conservative circles around the state.”

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Cape Coral, and former appointed Sen. George LeMieux are the leading GOP candidates to oppose two-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

[Clintonfatigued]

With Connie Mack IV showing inept political instincts, I hope that Florida conservatives will rally around Mike McCalister, who is little-known but polling credibly against the lacklaster Bill Nelson.

[Salvey]

Bring back Lee Atwater!! If we had him around in 2008, we probably wouldn't be in the fix we're in now.

[DIRTYSECRET]

another senate opportunity lost.

[ken5050]

Mike is a good guy. I voted for him for Gov, and his vote total was surprising, for a shoe-string campaign. However, I now suspect that most who voted for him, like myself, did so because we didn't want either McCollum or Scott. Scott HAS done a very good job ( but at the time I felt there was too much baggage).

LeMieux can't escape the Charlie Crist albatross aroudn his neck, and Mack has the bname, and little else..He's turning into Adam Hasner redux..he can't catch fire, can't inspire the base, and his fundraising is way below expectations.

Nelson CAN be beaten, especially with Obama atop the ticket.

So..look for Jeb to get in pretty soon, after just about every Republican in the state begs him to do so..

[hinckley buzzard]

Not a Floridian, but you all do what-ever you have to do to whack Nelson and replace him with a republican. I don't care if it is Bush or Mack or whoever.

Every senate seat is a national concern. Please don't squander your chance by sorting flyspecks from pepper flakes. We saw how well that infantile sh*t worked in the presidential primaries.

[Impy]

I don’t know about Jeb but there is still time for someone else to get in and I hope that occurs.