Jeff Atwater passed on running for the U.S. Senate in 2012, but he could have opportunities down the road for a Senate bid of his own.
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.
First elected to the Florida House in 2000, Atwaters rise in Tallahassee was impressive. In 2002, he defeated Democrat Bob Butterworth, well-known for his service as state attorney general, to win a seat in the Florida Senate. Once in the upper chamber, Atwater propelled up the leadership ladder, eventually serving as Senate president after the 2008 elections.
Setting his eyes on state office, Atwater cruised to the Republican CFO nomination in 2010 with little difficulty, building an impressive war chest and campaign operation. Democrats had a credible candidate in Loranne Ausley who tried to peck away at Riverside National being taken over by the feds and Atwaters record in the state Senate. Nothing worked for her and Atwater destroyed her in the general election. Things proved even easier for Atwater in 2014 as he utterly routed the Democrat, winning a bigger victory than his fellow Republicans holding statewide office.
Since then, Atwaters name has surfaced as a possible future gubernatorial candidate for Republicans in 2018 or as a possible U.S. Senate candidate. Atwaters name got some buzz as a possible Republican challenger to Bill Nelson but he closed the door on the idea after letting his name get some attention.
A proven winner who has triumphed twice at the statewide level, Atwater makes a lot of sense if Marco Rubio decides to forego a second term in the Senate to run for president in 2016. Nelson will be 76 in 2018 when he is up for a fourth term and its very possible the Democrat wont seek re-election.
Either in 2016 or 2018, Atwater would be on the short list if the GOP is looking for a Senate candidate. There are other possibilities, of course, ranging from Pam Bondi to congressmen like Ron DeSantis and Tom Rooney. Adam Putnam seems more focused on running for governor, a post Atwater has also been linked with.
Atwaters been focused more on Tallahassee than Washington during his political career but he could have a chance to head to the Senate, sooner rather than later. As he starts his second term, Atwaters political future remains up in the air, but one way or the other Florida can expect him to try to step up to a higher office.
Tallahassee based political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
