Jeff Miller Jumping in Senate Race Next Week, Roll Call Reports

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., will announce next week that he is entering the race to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Roll Call reported late on Wednesday. Rubio is currently running for the Republican presidential nomination and is not expected to run for a second Senate term in 2016. 

Miller has represented the Panhandle since first being elected in a special election back in 2001.  Currently chairing the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, Miller failed in his bid to lead the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year. 

The Panhandle congressman joins a potentially crowded Republican field. U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., is already running while U.S. Reps. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., and David Jolly, R-Fla., are considering entering the race. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera is expected to launch a Senate bid in the middle of next month. Former Attorney General Bill McCollum is weighing a bid and so are businessmen Randy Fine and Todd Wilcox.