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Sen.
Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in
2010, passing on what looked to be one of the most difficult reelection battles
in the country. Martinez, 62,
has been saying for weeks that he intended to run again but would wait until
January to make an announcement. Instead, he announced less than a month after
the 2008 elections that he is passing on another term. Martinez did not indicate whether he will serve out his
term in Congress, but said that the early announcement came so that
candidates would have ample time to rally support for their campaigns. The senator stated that he never wanted to be in public office
throughout his career, adding that he thought during his campaign for Orange
County mayor in 1998 that he would spend four-to-eight years in politics. During his Senate tenure, the former Housing and Urban Development secretary had a brief and unsuccessful stint as co-chairman of the Republican
National Committee – a position he vacated after less than a year. “The next eight years would have been two of candidacy
and six of serving – I just wanted to go a different direction with my life,” Martinez
said.
Democrats
are searching for a candidate in the race. Among those being mentioned at this
early stage are Reps. Allen Boyd, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ron Klein, Robert
Wexler and Kathy Castor, as well as state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.
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