Mel Martinez, Leaving Office a Little Early? (UPDATED)

Friday, August 07, 2009

On the heels of my Marco Rubio profile, some extremely weird news out of Florida: Sen. Mel Martinez is resigning his seat. Gov. Charlie Crist, who was running for the seat in 2010, will appoint Martinez's successor.

UPDATE: I'm hearing two different explanations for the out-of-the-blue resignation. The first, from a Hill source, is that members of Martinez's family are going through a difficult personal circumstance at this time and he's responding to that.

The second, via Marc Ambinder: "He's fed up w/ the Senate, his colleagues, his party and wants to get on w/ life."

If it's the first, he'll have my sympathies and a full-throated defense; Florida can always find another senator, but a child can't find another dad, a wife can't find another husband, etc. (I do not know whether the family members experiencing a hard time are Martinez's wife or child; I'm just using those titles to make the point.)

If it's the second, he's going to catch hell.

UPDATE: It is rumored Gov. Crist will replace Sen. Mel Martinez with former governor Bob Martinez.

They'll barely have to change the office sign.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Martinez's resignation letter gives no real sense of the reasoning behind the unexpected decision: "My priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country and at this stage in my life, and after nearly twelve years of public service in Florida and Washington, it’s time I return to Florida and my family."

08/07 10:35 AM Share