Kevin Burns Ends Bid for U.S. Senate to Run for State Senate Seat Gelber is Vacating

Less than a week after filing papers to run, former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns will announce at Wednesdays Democracy for America meeting in Coral Gables that he is ending his campaign for the U.S. Senate and will instead run for the state senate seat that Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, is vacating to run for attorney general.

With real estate billionaire Jeff Greene announcing on Friday that he would enter the Democratic primary for the Senate, Burns and his team said the dynamics of the contest had changed.

Just as he had running for the U.S. Senate, Burns intends to continue campaigning against offshore drilling. One simple spill is devastating Florida and Louisiana and this wasnt a big spill, said Burns.

Burns gave the recently ended legislative session low marks. It was a terrible session, he said, maintaining that the Legislature went after school teachers, business owners and abortion rights.

Burns made no apologies for his 18 month campaign for the U.S. Senate. He called it a learning experience and talked about the thousands of Floridians he had met. The same problems in Miami-Dade are the same problems in Gainesville and across the state, he said.