Rooney won’t run for Rubio’s seat

Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) on Monday became the latest Republican to take a pass on the race to replace Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the Senate.

“For the last several days I considered running for the U.S. Senate representing the great state of Florida,” Rooney said in a statement on his Facebook page. “While I feel like I could mount a successful statewide campaign, the toll I believe the process would take on my family is something I cannot put them through.”

Rooney and his wife, Tara, are raising three young sons.

{mosads}Rooney is a close friend of Rubio’s — they attended the University of Miami together, and their political careers took off at about the same time.

The news comes on the heels of several other high-profile Republicans who have said they won’t run in 2016 to replace Rubio, who is giving up his Senate seat to run for president.

Last week, former Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford (R), who Republicans in the Sunshine State view as a rare political talent, said he wouldn’t run because he’s also raising young children.

Prior to that, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, who had been galvanizing support among establishment Republicans in the state, shocked political watchers by taking a pass.

Attorney General Pam Bondi also said last week she’d seek reelection instead of running for Senate.

Reps. Ron DeSantis, Vern Buchanan and David Jolly, Lt. Gov. Carlos López-Cantera and state Sen. Don Gaetz have either expressed interest in running for Senate in 2016, or are among the names Florida Republicans mention as potential candidates.

DeSantis is a Tea Party favorite, and national conservative groups are pushing him to run.

Whoever emerges will likely take on Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), a centrist Democrat and former Republican, in the general election.

Murphy has a solid base of establishment support in the race, although he could still face a primary challenge from Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), a liberal firebrand that appeals to progressives who would like to see Murphy challenged from the left.