Welcome to

Republican Senator Mel Martinez won’t seek reelection. The first term US Senator made the announcement today in Orlando. Recent polls showed support for the Republican senator waning indicating a tough reelection road in 2010. The list of people who haven’t ruled out replacing Martinez include former Governor Jeb Bush, Former House Speakers Marco Rubio and Allan Bense, and Attorney General Bill McCollum. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer said there’s no shortage of people who want to take over.

“It’s been about six hours since Senator Martinez has announced he’s not rerunning and I can tell you my phone has been ringing off the hook. So I do anticipate a lot of people looking at this seat, but when they find out what it’s going to take to win not only from a financial stand point, but also from a statewide office, you’re going to see people reconsider,” said Greer.

Greer said it will likely cost 25 million dollars to run a successful campaign for the senate seat.