In the most unsurprising news of the 2013-2014 political season here in Florida, the Democratic party's 2010 nominee for governor, Alex Sink, announced today she will not be running for the party's nomination in 2014.
The Associated Press' Brendan Farrington broke the news, but about an hour later Sink herself issued a statement, where the former Chief Financial Officer said she was "appalled" at Governor Rick Scott's failed leadership on the economy, education and the environment.
Her full statement is listed after the jump:
I want to thank my many friends and supporters from around Florida who have reached out to me over the past months with words of encouragement for my continued involvement in the business and political life of our state.
After careful consideration, I have decided that the best way for me to make a positive and lasting impact on our state is to continue the work we've started together. I plan to continue my involvement with the Florida Next Foundation, working to build a state of innovation and inspiring the next generation of young Florida leaders. And of course I am going to be supporting candidates who I believe share my vision that Florida can be a state of opportunity for all of its citizens.
That being said, like so many Floridians, I am appalled at Governor Rick Scott's failed leadership on the economy, education and the environment. I will continue to speak out and to aggressively hold him accountable for ignoring Floridians' best interests.
Alex
Sink has repeatedly pushed back the date when she would make her announcement, lending credence to the notion that she was not going to run. I wrote on this blog back in May that I believed she would not run, based simply on her body language at the Kennedy-King Democratic party dinner at the Tampa Convention Center. At that time she said she would make an announcement in "mid-summer." That then became September 1. Then October 25.
So for those who had September 20 in the pool, congrats.
Naturally the Republican Party of Florida issued a statement minutes after the AP's story broke. RPOF Chair Lenny Curry said, "Now that Alex Sink has opted out of the gubernatorial race, will she stand with Florida's leading liberal Nan Rich? Anything other than full-throated support for Senator Rich is an implicit endorsement of Charlie Crist, a candidate she called a 'disaster.' The Republican Party of Florida is more than happy to run the campaign that Alex Sink would have run against Charlie Crist, who oversaw the second highest jump in unemployment in the country and was close political allies with criminals and felons."
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2013.