Posted on 01/06/2009 2:00:39 PM PST by St. Louis Conservative
TALLAHASSEE -- Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, of West Miami, is certain to run for the U.S. Senate seat in 2010, following Jeb Bush's decision not to become a candidate.
In an interview, Rubio, Florida's first Cuban-American House speaker from 2006-2008, said he'd consider a run "about as seriously as you can consider anything." He'll have a formal announcement in a few weeks, he said, but he's already set up a Web site as a prelude to his campaign and sent out a video to top Republican donors around the state.
"Look, U.S. Senate seats are very competitive and very unique and very rare, so you can expect the best of the best are going to get in," Rubio said. "I don't expect to be the frontrunner."
Bush's decision not to run, announced in an e-mail this afternoon, instantly sent shockwaves through Florida's political community, giving Republicans who would have stood no chance against Florida's popular former governor new life.
"While the opportunity to serve my state and country during these turbulent and dynamic times is compelling, now is not the right time to return to elected office," Bush, the brother of the president, said in a statement.
Another virtual shoo-in candidate: Attorney General Bill McCollum, who ran for the seat twice before, including in 2004.
"I think certainly the circumstances have changed now that the governor has decided not to seek this seat," said McCollum's political consultant, Matt Williams. "The attorney general is going to take a serious, hard look at this and come to a decision in short order."
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.orlandosentinel.com ...
Jeb’s not running. Why isn’t that in breaking?
As far as the bushes go, one can only hope it is never!!!
Hallelujah!
I believe that Jeb would never have run for that seat. It will be necessary for a LATIN GOP’er to run for that seat. I believe that Jeb WILL run when that turd Bill Nelson is up for re-election.
Just think that this was the plan from when that Teddy Kennedy’s buddy Martinez knew he would not win in a GOP primary.
Any Floridians out there have a take on this Rubio fellow?
ping!
solid tax-cutting conservative...wish the FL Senate would have gone along with his tax proposals...but alas...
can’t say much on his moral views...not too familiar with them..
I think Jeb is more conservative than George, however he is probably to the left of Tom Tancredo on the issue. I am not for blanket amnesty, but I’m probably closer to Jeb on this issue than the Minutemen. Anyway, Jeb was easily our best shot at keeping this seat. This Rubio guy seems pretty sharp. This is a seat that absolutely must be kept in GOP hands.
This is good news. Other Republicans might run, as well, but most of them are uninspiring.
McCollum looks good on paper, but has under performed in the past. I hope this doesn’t turn into a bitter primary between Rubio and McCollum. I could see it now, McCollum supporters accuse Rubio of caring more about Cubans than white folks. Thus he can’t be trusted on border security. OTOH Rubio supporters accuse McCollum of being pro-homosexual and pro-baby killing with his past support of embryonic stem cell research.
Hopefully with no Jeb both Klein and Boyd will run and we’ll snatch their seats as one of them loses to Rubio.
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