Without a re-election campaign looming over Martinez's political ambitions our chances for securing a Yea vote on dream just got better. In 2007 Martinez was hesitant to vote for dream.
US Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), announced Tuesday he won’t seek a second six-year term in 2010, setting up an immediate scramble for a seat already considered vulnerable.
The surprise anouncement was yet another sign of the speedy end of the Bush era. Martinez, who immigrated from Cuba when he was 15, served as both HUD secretary and chair of the Republican National Committee under Bush. He is also close to US Sen. John McCain, and the Republican presidential candidate's loss of Florida to Barack Obama last month was viewed as a sign, along with his own lagging poll numbers, that Martinez would face a tough challenge in two years.
But Martinez, in a statement, said he was motivated by the desire to spend more time with his family.
“Some might try to characterize this decision in terms of political affairs. Some will say a re-election campaign would have been too difficult. But I’ve faced much tougher odds in political campaigns and in life. My decision was not based on reelection prospects, but on what I want to do with the next eight years of my life,” he said.
The announcement set off an immediate scramble for position in what will be one of the big off-year elections two years from now.
Florida’s chief financial officer, Democrat Alex Sink, had let it be known before Martinez’ that she would be announcing today that she’s decided to run for re-election rather than for Martinez’ seat. But her office put the announcement on hold after it got the word about Martinez.
The Martinez announcement came on the same day his Republican colleague, US Sen. Saxby Chambliss, faces a runoff with Democrat Jim Martin. It’s another sign of turmoil within the GOP, but not necessarily bad news for the party if a better candidate emerges.
We’ll have more on how the race shapes up in both parties later this week.