TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who led the effort to put class-size limits in the state constitution, plans to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, sources close to Meek say.
Meek would be the first major candidate to jump into the 2010 race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Mel Martinez. He plans to make the announcement at his Miami home.
Meek, 42, is beginning his fourth term in Congress. He sits on the powerful Ways & Means Committee, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. He served on the Armed Services Committee his first three terms. He also has a close relationship with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders.
Meek was elected to the state House at age 27 and served four years before being elected to the state Senate in 1998. As a senator, he staged a sit-in protest in then-Gov. Jeb Bush’s office complex over a proposal to strip affirmative action protections from state contracting and university admissions.
He and Bush were later at odds over the class-size amendment which passed in 2002, the same year Meek was elected to Congress. Meek led the petition drive to get the measure on the ballot, and then traveled the state to promote it as Bush campaigned heavily against it during his re-election campaign.
“What Floridians will see is a strong candidate who’s never shied away from a challenge,” said Ana Cruz, a Tampa-based political strategist who met with Meek on Monday. “Kendrick has traveled the state, class size is a perfect example of that, and he’s here in Hillsborough County today. I think he has a firm grasp of what Floridians from the Panhandle to the Keys need in a voice in Washington.”
If he succeeds, Meek would be the first black candidate elected to statewide office in Florida.
Meek, at Pelosi’s request, has led the “30 Something Working Group,” which uses creative ways to deliver House policy messages to younger voters. He serves in the same seat his mother, Carrie Meek, held for 10 years.
Meek’s announcement will likely be quickly followed by other candidates. Democrats considering a run include state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd and state Sen. Dan Gelber. Gelber is likely to announce plans to run late next week.
Republicans considering a run include Attorney General Bill McCollum, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2000 and 2004; former House speakers Allan Bense and Marco Rubio; and U.S. Reps. Connie Mack and Vern Buchanan.
Martinez announced in December that he wouldn’t seek a second six-year term. Former Gov. Jeb Bush had considered running for the seat, but said last week he decided against a campaign.
