Jeff Atwater passed on running for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and did so again earlier this year but now his name is resurfacing as a possible candidate.
Chief Financial Officer Atwater has a long background in both the private and the public sectors, serving as president and CEO for Barnett Bank in key areas before leading Riverside National Bank in parts of South Florida.
Tom Rooney has plenty of options as he ponders his political future but Tallahassee might be a better bet than staying in Washington. There’s already buzz that Rooney could try for the U.S. Senate in 2018 regardless of what Bill Nelson does. But Rick Scott has also thrown his name into the mix and Rooney simply doesn’t have the name recognition or the war chest the governor has.
Plenty of senators in recent years called it quits when they were in their mid to late 70s. Not Bill Nelson as all signs indicate he will run for a fourth term in 2018. Nelson signaled once again at the end of August that he will run for a fourth term. In 2018, Nelson will be 76 but he shows no signs of slowing down.
Florida politics got a whole lot more interesting last week as the Legislature ended a special session without agreeing on new congressional districts. The next few days should offer some clarity on where things go from here. Rick Scott could call a special session and have the Legislature try again. The Florida Supreme Court, which ruled against the old districts and mandated the special session, could wind up creating the new districts.
The Republicans running for Marco Rubio’s seat should be prepared to spend another six months in political limbo as the presidential race eclipses them.
The GOP presidential contest is dominating the attention of activists and primary voters, even more so with Donald Trump commanding center stage. Add in Florida-based candidates like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, a surging Carly Fiorina, conservative favorites like Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, making it harder for the Senate candidates to get much notice.
Until the Legislature holds a special session on redistricting later this month, Florida’s congressional races will be up in the air. One thing’s already clear though: the Republicans aren’t exactly tripping over themselves to squelch Charlie Crist’s latest comeback attempt. Crist has already said he will run if there’s an open seat in Pinellas County. That looks like a near certainty, especially with current incumbent David Jolly switching gears to run for the Senate in 2016.
During his two terms in Congress, Patrick Murphy built up the reputation as a moderate who would work both sides of the aisle for his district. But now that he's running for the Democratic Senate nomination and needs the approval of party-first-district-second, Murphy is starting to bolt to the left.
Kathy Castor will be one of the congressional representatives who will be impacted by redistricting and this could lead to a rematch with her toughest challenger in recent elections.
Hillary Clinton needs a united Democratic front in Florida to boost her chances of winning the White House, but events in recent days made that a lot more difficult as the Sunshine State’s ultimate political opportunist and Florida’s leading liberal took center stage.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled last week that eight of the state’s 27 congressional districts didn’t pass constitutional muster. Most congressional representatives from Florida won’t be greatly impacted. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Kathy Castor should still be in Congress after the 2016 elections.
Gwen Graham is following in Patrick Murphy’s footsteps -- and, so far, it’s working to her advantage. Graham burst onto the political scene last year in a rare bright spot for Democrats, in a lousy election cycle for them.
