Former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., the ex-congressman turned morning talk-show host, threw out his name as a possibility for the U.S. Senate race in 2018 -- but he seems to make a habit out of mulling over running for office without actually lining up to run.
Scarborough appeared on conservative Hugh Hewitts national radio talk-show earlier this month and said he did not plan to run for the Senate in 2016 but 2018 could be a different story. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is up for a second term in 2016 but is expected to announce on Monday that he is running for the presidency instead of trying to remain in the Senate. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelsons, D-Fla., third term ends in 2018 and, with the senator turning 76 that year, there has been speculation that he could retire.
"I dont think in '16, but who knows?" Scarborough told Hewitt "In '18 ... I dont think Bill Nelson will be sticking around, so you know, one of these years, I think, one of these years if I did something, Id probably look to run in Florida."
Last month, reports emerged that Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., could run for the Senate in 2018 when he faces term limits as governor.
But Scarborough has made a habit of leaving the door open for political campaigns that never quite came together.
A Pensacola lawyer who was elected to Congress in 1994 after longtime U.S. Rep. Earl Hutto, D-Fla., retired, Scarborough served three full terms before resigning in the middle of his fourth to spend more time with his family. Since 2003, he has hosted the "Scarborough County" and "Morning Joe" news programs on MSNBC.
There has been buzz about Scarborough making a political comeback before.In 2006, there was speculation that Scarborough would take on then-U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., in 2006 in the Republican primary to challenge Nelson. In 2009 when then-U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., left the U.S. Senate, Scarborough turned down the opportunity to run.In 2010, Scarborough shot down rumors that he would run for president or be then-New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs running mate on an independent presidential ticketin the 2012 election cycle.There were also reports that the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) tried to recruit Scarborough to challenge Nelson in 2012 though the NRSC quickly shot the rumor down.
Scarborough received some buzz last year as a possible presidential candidate, though again he declined to enter the race.Now Scarborough has left the door open again to running for the Senate again.
Scarborough is not the only TV host who has made a habit of mulling over running for office while never actually committing to a campaign. Billionaire Donald Trump, the host of the Apprentice shows on NBC, has gone through the motions of running for the Republican presidential nomination in recent election cycles, even going to Iowa earlier this week, but did not run. Like Scarborough, Trump has even garnered speculation of running for office outside the major parties when he looked at shooting for the Reform Party presidential nomination in the 2000 election cycle.
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