Businessman Todd Wilcox moved a step closer to running for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday as he resigned his post as CEO of Patriot Capital.
Wilcox announced last month that he would leave Patriot Capital to focus on an exploratory effort for the Senate seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is running for the Republican presidential nomination and has said he will not run for a second Senate term.
On Wednesday, Wilcox officially announced his departure and said he was near to making a decision on whether to enter the Senate race.
“I have submitted my resignation today with a mix of emotions," Wilcox said on Wednesday. “We have built an amazing enterprise over the past nine years and it has been a source of great personal pride to lead such an impressive team of professionals. I will miss both the work we do for the nation and serving with all of you.
“As for the future, we look forward to making a formal announcement about the decision to declare my candidacy for the U.S. Senate in the very near term,” Wilcox added.
Speaking at an event held by Ernst and Young last month, Wilcox ripped into the Democrats, including hitting President Barack Obama’s economic policies.
“This celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit could not come at a better time as free-market capitalism is under constant attack by the left of the Democratic Party,” Wilcox said at the event. “The president once said ‘You didn’t create that … ’; he was talking to all of us as entrepreneurs. While I took exception to those comments when he said them and still do today, there was some truth in them.”
Wilcox also offered some biographical information in that speech, including noting his service in the Army, his work for the CIA and his years in the private sector.
Wilcox joins a still-developing field of candidates. U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., is already in the race while fellow congressmen U.S. Reps. Jeff Miller, Curt Clawson and David Jolly continue to leave the door open to running for the Republican nomination. Other potential Republican hopefuls include Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, former Attorney General Bill McCollum and businessman Randy Fine. On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., is already running while U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., is also a possible candidate. Republican strategist Roger Stone is a possible candidate on the Libertarian line.
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