State Rep. Mike La Rosa, R-St. Cloud, announced on Tuesday morning that he will not run for Congress next year.
La Rosa had been exploring running for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., who is running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2016. Aiming for the Republican presidential nomination, Rubio has said he will not run for a second Senate term.
Back in July, La Rosa opened the door to a congressional bid and weighed in on national and international issues, including his opposition to President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear program.
But, on Tuesday, La Rosa said he would run again for his state House seat in 2016 instead of aiming for Congress. The congressional district leans Democratic.
"Looking ahead to 2016, I've received overwhelming encouragement from my family, community and colleagues, and although I'm totally fed up with politicians in Washington, D.C., and believe that Washington and Congress need a complete and total overhaul, I've decided not to run for the U.S. House next year,” La Rosa said. “For now, I will continue to serve the people of Central Florida as their state representative. There is still much work to be done in the Florida Legislature, including funding our educational institutions and cutting taxes for Florida families."
La Rosa was first elected to the Florida House in 2012 and served as part of the leadership as deputy majority whip. He currently is the vice chairman of the Regulatory Affairs Committee and the Economic Development and Tourism Subcommittee.
With La Rosa out, Republicans have a choice of two candidates, as engineer and veteran Wayne Liebnitzky and Kissimmee City Commissioner Wanda Rentas run for the GOP nomination. The Democrats have a larger field as attorney Valleri Crabtree, physician Dena Minning who has been romantically involved with Grayson, liberal activist and former Grayson aide Susannah Randolph, former state Rep. Ricardo Rangel and state Sen. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, seek the party’s nod. Businessman Marko Milakovich ran in 2014 with no party affiliation and might be back for a second try in 2016.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
