David Jolly, Florida Republican, to forego Senate run: report

Rep. David Jolly announced Friday that he will forgo a bid for the U.S. Senate, and instead seek re-election to his House seat in Florida — a decision that will increase speculation that Sen. Marco Rubio has had a change of heart and plans to seek re-election to a seat that could decide whether Senate Republicans retain their majority.

Mr. Jolly, a Republican, said at a press conference in Florida that he has unfinished business in the House.

“Today I am asking my community simply for the opportunity to keep doing my job,” Mr .Jolly said. “Today I am announcing that I will seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives for Pinellas County.”

The limelight immediately shifted to whether Mr. Rubio will file for re-election before the June 24 deadline.

“I have believed for weeks that Sen. Rubio will get in,” Mr. Jolly said in response to a question. “I anticipate that he will get in as early as Monday.”“

The 45-year-old pledged after he entered the 2016 GOP presidential race that he was not going to seek re-election to the Senate, opening the door for a a five-person contests between Todd Wilcox, a political newcomer, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez Cantera, businessman Carlos Beruff, Rep. Ron DeSantis and Mr. Jolly.

Mr. Rubio, though, has come under intense pressure from top Senate Republicans to rethink his plans since he pulled the plug on his presidential campaign after getting throttled by Donald Trump in Florida by nearly 19 percentage points.

Despite the humbling defeat in his political backyard, Republicans continue to believe Mr. Rubio’s strong name ID and proven fundraising skills required to compete in a state with an expensive media market.

Democrats, meanwhile, see Florida as a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the November election, where they need to net either five seats, or four seats and win the White House, to flip control of the Senate.

Kyle Kondik, of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said Mr. Rubio would have his work cut out for him if he runs.

“At least at the outset of a reconfigured race, Rubio changing course and seeking a return to the Senate would not change our rating in the Florida Senate race. We would still call it a Toss-up,” Mr. Kondik wrote in his latest breakdown of the race. “Rubio’s star has dimmed after his presidential race, and he could potentially face problems in both a primary and a general election.”

Polls have shown that Mr. Rubio’s approval rating is underwater in Florida after missing numerous votes during his presidential bid and spending time in Iowa, New Hampshire and other primary states that could have been spent in Florida.

Mr. Rubio is thought to be considering another White House run in 2020 and another loss in his home state would dent those aspirations.

For months, Mr. Rubio dismissed the calls to file for re-election before the June 24 deadline, mocking the reporters and pundits for suggesting otherwise.

“I have only said like 10,000 times I will be a private citizen in January,” he said last month, and reiterated his support for Mr. Cantera, a friend.

He changed his tune this week after Mr. Cantera urged him to reconsider defending his seat in the wake of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

Since then, Mr. Jolly and Mr. DeSantis signaled they would be willing to step aside for Mr. Rubio.

The Beruff campaign, meanwhile, says the businessman “is staying in this race no matter what” — setting up a potential battle that pits the insurgent outsider against a first-term Senator embraced by the GOP establishment.

“Carlos Beruff has traveled to all 67 counties in Florida, and the people of Florida have made one thing abundantly clear: they value real world experience more than political experience,” said Chris Hartline, a campaign spokesman. “They’re sick of career politicians and power-brokers in Washington who care about one thing: holding on to power. But the voters of Florida will not obey them. They don’t get to pick our candidates.”