Conservative groups across the nation think they have found the next Marco Rubio, a right-of-center star who can win big in Florida, in Will Weatherford. The question is, will Weatherford be able to keep his prime position after he leaves Tallahassee next year while other young Republican leaders remain on the stage?
The speaker of the Florida House, the youngest legislative leader in the nation, keeps racking up honors and accolades. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) earlier this year, Weatherford was honored as one of the nations most promising young conservative leaders. At the end of last week, the Florida chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) announced they would present Weatherford with an award at their annual conference in Orlando at the end of August.
Theres a natural tendency to compare Weatherford to Rubio and media outlets across the nation have done exactly that. Both Republicans are relatively young for being so prominent in politics. Rubio is 42 and is already being talked about as a presidential candidate; Weatherford is only 33. Theyre both solid conservatives and they both served as speaker of the Florida House. Theyve also been willing to buck Republican governors in Tallahassee. Rubio took on and drove Charlie Crist out of the GOP during the Senate race in 2010. Weatherford showed no hesitation earlier this year in opposing Rick Scott when he supported expanding Medicaid as required by Obamacare.
There are also differences between the two Republicans. Rubio was more of a loner on his way up. Weatherford has benefited from being the son-in-law of Allan Bense. Even while the Weatherfords might not be the Mannings, Will played football at Jacksonville University, his brother Joe played at Central Florida, his father and grandfather played at Southern Methodist. Wills brother Drew Weatherford was the starting quarterback for Florida State in his sophomore and junior years before being benched behind current Minnesota Vikings QB Christian Ponder. From his rise in politics after Ken Littlefield left the Florida House to his days playing college football, Weatherford always had the support of his family.
Weatherford will be term-limited at the end of 2014 but he should have options down the road. In the short term, running for Congress probably isnt high on his list. Gus Bilirakis is only 50 and the seats been held by the Bilirakis family for 30 years. But there are other opportunities. Bill Nelson will be 76 in 2018 when his term in the U.S. Senate ends. Its easy to see Weatherford running for the seat, especially if Nelson decides not to run for a fourth term. But theres another prize open in 2018 when Rick Scott will face term limits or whichever Democrat defeats him in 2014 will run for a second term as governor.
Come 2018, Weatherford should certainly be at the top of the list of Republicans running for governor or for the Senate. Hell have competition of course. Despite being in Congress for a decade and winning a statewide election, Adam Putnam is only 39. Jeff Atwater could also be looking to move up to higher office come 2018. Its easy to picture some Florida Republicans in Congress running for the Senate or for governor in 2018 and some of them are still fairly young: Tom Rooney is 42, Ron DeSantis is 34, Trey Radel is 37.
There are plenty of other Republicans in Florida who can be the next Rubio besides Weatherford and many of them also have youth on their side. While hes attracting the notice of CPAC and AFP now, Weatherford will have to figure out how to remain in the political limelight after he leaves Tallahassee in 2014. One more addition to the several political dramas already playing in Florida.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
