George LeMieux liked being in the Senate during his brief time in it and, with Marco Rubio running for president, he now faces one more chance to get back there.
LeMieux certainly has more than his share of obstacles, even as a lot of the stronger Republican candidates -- Jeff Atwater, Will Weatherford, Pam Bondi, Tom Rooney -- stay out of the race. While he did serve in the Senate, LeMieux was appointed to it by Charlie Crist. LeMieux has never won elected office, does not have much of a political base and his bid to challenge Bill Nelson in 2012 went nowhere. Even worse for his chances, LeMieux also has a number of ties to Crist, the former Republican turned Democrat which will come back to hurt him in a primary.
But LeMieux brings some assets to the table. He comes from Broward County and could help the Republicans in that populous area. He has also deftly handled his connections with Crist. When he ran for the Senate in 2012, LeMieux would go out of his way to express his disappointment in Crist, despite their past ties, and he would also add that many Republicans across the state shared the same feelings.
Despite his ties to Crist, LeMieux could pull in conservatives. During his short time in the Senate -- less than a year and a half -- LeMieux focused on fiscal issues, calling for the federal government to return to its 2007 budget.
LeMieux also brings something else to the table if he runs -- a gift for political attacks. During the 2012 election, he bombarded fellow Republican Connie Mack with attacks. Many of the same attacks he used were picked up by Nelson in the general election. LeMieux has already shown he has no problem throwing mud when he needs to and possible primary rivals should take note.
But there are some problems. Despite his time in the Senate, LeMieux remains unknown to most Florida voters. Nevertheless, he is not alone in that regard. Plenty of the potential Republican candidates -- Vern Buchanan, Ron DeSantis, Don Gaetz, David Jolly, Carlos Lopez-Cantera -- are just as unknown. Thats one of the reasons Bill McCollum is looking at the race despite his three previous failures to move up the ladder, because hes far better known than the other potential Senate candidates on the Republican bench.
One big factor is how LeMieuxs Washington connections hold up. Mitch McConnell and plenty of other Beltway Republicans praised LeMieux when he was in the Senate. If LeMieux has kept those ties intact, he could be able to prove a strong fundraiser, though he didnt blow anybody away with it in 2012.
LeMieux might not be the favorite if he runs in the Republican primary and he has a tough path to victory. But he will be a factor, especially if he roughs up his primary opponents the way he did last time out.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.