We mentioned this was probably going to happen in a post earlier today.
The little bird who indicated to us that St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman was about to endorse Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy for U.S. Senate was Kriseman himself, who told this reporter and others over lunch at Sylvia's Queen of Soul Food that he was endorsing Murphy, but had yet to announce.
Also at the table were Ben Kirby, Kriseman's communications director, CL editor-in-chief David Warner, SaintPetersBlog editor and publisher Peter Schorsch (who won lunch with the mayor via a CL charity auction) and two representatives from The Children's Home, the nonprofit that benefited from the auction.
There was some consternation over whether we could (or should) run with Kriseman's comments — but it was, after all, announced at the start of the event that everything was on the record.
Both Schorsch and this reporter wound up including it in blog posts, and within a couple of hours Kriseman's endorsement was public.
Here's what he had to say about Murphy, a moderate former Republican who defeated controversial Palm Beach County Congressman Allen West in 2012 and held on to his seat in 2014.
"I am pleased and honored to endorse a dedicated public servant in Congressman Patrick Murphy," Kriseman said in a written statement. "I know that he will be an outstanding United States Senator, and serve the people well."
So, there ya have it.
Also announcing an endorsement of Murphy today is West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio.
"I am proud to support Patrick Murphy for U.S. Senate," Muoio said, in the same media release. "His values and principles are the kind of qualities our state deserves. He is a fierce defender of our rights and an effective, balanced leader who knows how to work with others to ensure our state's success."
Murphy is running for the soon-to-be open seat that U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is vacating in order to run for president or whatever second prize is. Murphy potentially faces a fierce primary against outspoken Orlando-area Congressman Alan Grayson, an outspoken progressive who believes reporters are robots that have been programmed to defecate upon him.
On the Republican side, Ponte Vedra Beach Congressman Ron DeSantis, kind of a tea party guy, announced his candidacy last week. A handful of other Republicans have expressed interest, the most vocal of whom being current Lieutenant Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who recently formed a super PAC to "explore" whether running for Senate is for him.
