Businessman Todd Wilcox jumped in the race for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, taking aim at career politicians and promising to fight for change in Washington.
Wilcox announced last month that he would leave Patriot Capital to focus on an exploratory effort for the Senate seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is running for the Republican presidential nomination and has said he will not run for a second Senate term. Last week, Wilcox left Patriot Capital.
“It’s time to restore America’s prominence both here at home and abroad,” Wilcox said on Wednesday as he kicked off his campaign. “The economy is growing at a dismal rate. More businesses are closing than are opening for the first time in our nation’s history. Our personal freedoms are under attack by an intrusive executive branch in the name of national security, and our foreign policy decisions have resulted in our friends not trusting us and our enemies not fearing us.
"It’s not just time for a new generation of leaders, it’s time for new leadership altogether,” Wilcox added. “If we expect to change the direction of our country, Florida’s next U.S. senator cannot come from the same political class who are already running Washington, D.C. We need leadership with real-world experience, whose sole priority is restoring America’s prominence, not getting re-elected or running for the next political office."
Speaking at an event held by Ernst and Young last month, Wilcox ripped into the Democrats, including hitting President Barack Obama’s economic policies.
“This celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit could not come at a better time as free-market capitalism is under constant attack by the left of the Democratic Party,” Wilcox said at the event. “The president once said ‘You didn’t create that … ’; he was talking to all of us as entrepreneurs. While I took exception to those comments when he said them and still do today, there was some truth in them.”
Wilcox also offered some biographical information in that speech, including noting his service in the Army, his work for the CIA and his years in the private sector.
Wilcox joins a still-developing field of candidates. U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., is already in the race while fellow congressmen U.S. Reps. Jeff Miller, Curt Clawson and David Jolly continue to leave the door open to running for the Republican nomination. Other potential Republican hopefuls include Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is expected to enter the race later this month, and former Attorney General Bill McCollum. On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., is already running while U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., is also a possible candidate. Republican strategist Roger Stone is a possible candidate on the Libertarian line.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
