Key Republican players in Tallahassee and Sarasota have reached out to former State Sen. Mike Bennett and are encouraging him to move to Sarasota and run for state Sen. Nancy Detert’s seat if she leaves to run for the Sarasota County Commission.
Mike Bennett
“I have not ruled it out,” said Bennett, a Bradenton Republican who represented parts of Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte when he was in the Senate from 2002 to 2012.
Last month, Detert, R-Venice, confirmed that she is thinking about running for the County Commission in 2016 when an open seat will be available.
That has set off a mad scramble among potential candidates for her current Senate seat. Already state Reps. Greg Steube and Ray Pilon have said they intend to run for the seat if Detert moves. And former state Rep. Doug Holder, R-Osprey, has also said he would enter the race.
Former Sarasota County commissioner Nora Patterson and Lakewood Ranch developer Pat Neal have also expressed interest in the Senate seat.
While in Tallahassee last week, Bennett said he was surprised at how many people were encouraging him to consider it because of his previous experience in the Florida Legislature.
Though Bennett was term-limited out in 2012, he is could still run because he has been out of office for two years and would be running for a different district.
Since 2012, Bennett has been the Manatee County elections supervisor. If he ran for the Senate, he would have to pass on running for re-election to that post in 2016.
The Republican National Committee is hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2012 GOP presidential nomination process in which the candidates debated 20 times.
The RNC earlier this month announced that it has sanctioned just nine debates nationwide — including one in Florida — among the eventual GOP contenders. The first debate would be in Ohio in August. Florida is scheduled to host the final debate in February 2016 at a city and site to be determined, though three other debates could ultimately added, according the Republican National Committee.
During the 2012 nomination process, Florida ended up with four debates. Tampa hosted two, while Orlando and Jacksonville each hosted one.
Webster worried
A Florida congressman is bracing for the worst after failing in his bid to run against John Boehner for Speaker of the House earlier this month.
U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Orlando, sent a somewhat desperate sounding fundraising email to his supporters on Thursday warning that, as a result of his challenge to Boehner he expects his campaign re-election money to begin to dry up. Webster was offered up as a candidate to replace Boehner for speaker earlier this month, but got just 12 votes, including his own.
“Because I stood up for principle, my campaign will undoubtedly suffer financially in the coming months,” Webster wrote in the fundraising appeal. “Any funds I may have hoped to receive from PACs and other members of Congress will likely evaporate.”
That’s significant because in 2012, during Webster’s last competitive campaign for Congress, top Republican House leaders like then Majority Leader Eric Cantor and current Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy donated tens of thousands of dollars to help Webster narrowly defeat Democrat Val Demings. Webster knows he can’t count on such money now.
Additionally, Webster has the problem of facing a redrawn district that could make it harder for him to win. The Florida Legislature has been required to redraw Webster’s district because the Supreme Court declared it did not abide by the constitutional amendment that demands all Florida districts be drawn without intent to protect incumbents.
The result is that Webster’s district should gain more Democratic voters while he gets less help from Capitol Hill Republicans.
Webster is hoping Republicans who supported him will make up for that loss.
“I won’t have the support of DC in my re-election . . . but I hope I will still have your support,” Webster says.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday
The League of Women Voters of Sarasota County hosts a discussion on Florida’s Stand Your Ground law with attorney Adam Tebrugge. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, 2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota. Cost is $15. To attend call 925-2970 or email lwvsc@verizon.net
• Manatee Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett speaks to the Republican Party of Manatee County starting at 7 p.m. at the Bradenton Women's Club, 1705 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton.
Tuesday
• Newly-elected state Rep. Julio Gonzalez, R-Venice, speaks to the Republican Club of South Sarasota County starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Venice City Hall Community Room, 401 W. Venice Avenue, Venice.
• Sarasota School Board member Shirley Brown speaks to the Sarasota Democratic Women’s Club starting at the Venice Library Conference Room, 300 Nokomis Ave. South, Venice.
