This may be a non-election year, but it’s never a non-speculation year in politics. Here are two prime examples involving prominent individuals with Tampa roots.
Native son Frank Sanchez, the current U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade, could be in line for the top spot. Former Commerce Secretary John Bryson resigned last year. The acting secretary, Rebecca Blank, is leaving the department this summer for academia. Sanchez, who lost a mayoral run-off to Pam Iorio in 2003, is not the odds-on favorite, but he’s in the hunt.
Then there’s this long-shot scenario involving next year’s gubernatorial race. Will Sen. Bill Nelson jump in or not? If he passes, it likely means former Republican governor-turned-Democratic-candidate-with-uber-baggage Charlie Crist will oppose unpopular incumbent Rick Scott. But if the three-term senator runs and wins–and he would likely be favored–Nelson, who keeps himself in good shape and excellent health, would be 72.
But suppose Nelson, who has name recognition and access to funding, does run–but with, say, a notable stipulation. He announces early that he would be a one-term governor. Thus nothing he would do would be with re-election in mind. Pure Sunshine State priorities, political spoilers be damned. He also underscores that the lieutenant governor position, which many understandably want eliminated, would instead be upgraded to virtual co-governor status with several critically important portfolios squarely in the domain of the lieutenant governor.
And in the aftermath of the Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll debacle, that person would have to be of pristine political reputation with hands-on, CEO-type skills. And geographically and demographically, it would help if this person were an I-4 Corridor female.
A one-term Nelson-Iorio ticket? And if it’s a winner, it begets a Tampa front-runner already established for 2018.