Somewhere in Miami, the Ann Veal of Florida politics announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate Wednesday.
Who?
Carlos Lopez-Cantera.
Who?
He's the current Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
I'm sorry, who?
The man who is a heartbeat away from the governor's mansion, whom Gov. Rick Scott appointed after then-Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigned in 2013 amid looming scandal. Despite a high-up spot on a statewide ballot, Lopez-Cantera is still a political unknown, at least in these parts.
Ahead of an afternoon speech announcing his official run for the seat Marco Rubio is vacating to run for you-know-what, his campaign released a lil' video outlining his bio and what he hopes to accomplish for 'Merica.
"I'm Carlos Lopez-Cantera," he said. "And the most important job I'll ever have is husband to my wonderful wife Renee and father to my two beautiful girls. And as a family, we've decided that I'm running for the U.S. Senate so that your kids and mine can continue to live in the kind of country that gave my family the blessings of liberty and freedom that only America offers."
Although he's not a huge name in state politics, Lopez-Cantera has had a busy career in South Florida (well, that's what Wikipedia says, anyway). He was elected to the State House of Representatives in 2004 and served until 2012, becoming House Majority Whip and then House Majority Leader before his tenure was through. After that, he was elected Property Appraiser in Miami-Dade County.
In his campaign video, he decried party politics (bold move ahead of a GOP primary that will be the verbal equivalent of target practice at a backwoods gun range with President Obama's likeness affixed to the bullseye), but went on to tout the "successes" of the Scott administration's economic policies and all the money and freedom everyone now has because of them.
After his announcement, the Democratic Party of Florida packed its Twitter feed with, er, memories from his tenure in the legislature.
Lopez-Cantera is entering a GOP primary field that could get pretty crowded.
Congressman Ron DeSantis, who hails from Ponte Vedra, entered the race months ago. So, too, did a guy named Todd Wilcox.
Among those likely to announce here in a minute are Indian Shores Congressman David Jolly (on whom we'd put our money at the moment, not just because he's local) and Congressman Jeff Miller, a St. Pete native who hails from the Panhandle (by the way, is Chumuckla a real place?).
On the Democrat side, U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a West Palm Beach area moderate, and Orlando-area U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, a not-in-any-way moderate, are likely to face off in a primary.
Watch Lopez-Canter's full video in full below.
