After the Florida Supreme Court ruled that his current congressional district failed to pass constitutional muster, U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., is running for the U.S. Senate to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2016. Rubio is running for the Republican presidential nomination.
Saint Petersblog reported on Monday that Jolly was moving quickly to enter the race with an announcement coming as early as next week.
Jolly, a former aide to longtime U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., ran in a special election early last year needed after his former boss died. Beating former state CFO Alex Sink in an upset in the special election, Jolly held on to his seat in November with ease as the Democrats failed to run a candidate against him.
In Congress, Jolly has broken with Republicans on several issues, drawing fire from the right after announcing last summer that he supported same-sex marriage and backed a Monroe County judge’s decision to strike down a state constitutional amendment recognizing only traditional marriage in Florida that voters passed in 2008.
Last month, Jolly partnered with U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Fla., to back a federal ban on energy exploration in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico that was included in a measure passed by the U.S. House earlier this month.
In 2014, Jolly received a 55 grade from the American Conservative Union (ACU), below most other Republicans from the Sunshine State including U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., who scored a 100, and U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who received a 92. DeSantis is already running for the Republican nomination in the Senate race while Miller is expected to enter the race.
Other candidates on the Republican side include Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is expected to announce later this week, and businessman Todd Wilcox.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy and U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson are running for the Senate. Republican strategist Roger Stone is weighing a bid to run for the Libertarian nomination.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
