Tom Rooney knows whose footsteps to follow if he ever sets his eyes on the U.S. Senate. In fact, Rooney served in his mail room.
Connie Mack made the leap from the U.S. House to the Senate back in 1988 and its a path other Republicans have tried to make over the years with little luck. After 20 years in Congress, Bill McCollum failed in his two bids for the Senate. Last year, Connie Mack IV, son and namesake of the former senator, tried to emulate his fathers success but was blown out by Bill Nelson in November.
The grandson of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, Tom Rooney, after graduating from college, worked for the elder Mack in the senators mail room. Rooney cites it as a formative experience which gave him insight into understanding the issues confronting everyday Floridians. After going to law school, Rooney joined the Army and served in the JAG Corps and taught classes at West Point. He returned to Florida and became an assistant attorney general.
Despite his pedigree and credentials, Rooneys electoral career appeared stalled before it even started. He had no easy task in the Republican primary to challenge Democratic Congressman Tim Mahoney in 2008, but he defeated Gayle Harrell to secure the GOPs nomination. For most of the campaign, Mahoney appeared headed to a victory over Rooney, but the incumbent was plagued with reports of extramarital affairs in the final weeks of the election, including one with a staffer who received more than $120,000 from him. Rooney won big, taking 60 percent in the general election while Mahoney finished with less than 40 percent of the vote. While Rooney switched from the Palm Beach area to being more in the center of the state, he has easily won two other terms to the House.
Rooney has been prominent on a number of different fronts during his time in Congress, including the War on Terror, environmental affairs, foreign policy and agriculture. He has become increasingly critical of Barack Obama. When Obama spoke in Jacksonville at the end of July, Rooney was one of the most vocal Republicans in Florida responding to the president.
With a growing profile, Rooney, who is only 42, could soon be facing opportunities if he wants to follow in the elder Macks footsteps. Marco Rubio may not run for a second term in the Senate in 2016 if he ends up on the Republican presidential ticket. Even if Rubio stays in the Senate for a second term, Nelson will be 76 when he faces re-election in 2018 -- an age when many of his fellow senators retire from politics.
Rooney does not appear to have much interest in Tallahassee where his older brother Patrick currently serves in the Florida House. While Rooney certainly has the background to serve as Florida attorney general, that position wont be open until 2018 (Republican Pam Bondi is already off and running for a second term). Still, Rooney seems more concerned with federal politics than state affairs. If he sets his sights on higher office in the next few years, expect him to run for the Senate instead of state office.
Florida has 27 congressmen and most of them are unknown outside their own districts, something McCollum, Connie Mack IV, Buddy MacKay and Jim Davis learned when they tried and failed to move up the political ladder. It will be interesting to see how active Rooney will be across Florida in the 2014 elections to gauge his future political plans. Regardless, he is positioned to be a major player in Florida for years to come.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
