U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson “never really seriously considered” running for Florida governor in 2014.
“I made the right decision and I never really seriously considered,โ the three-term Orlando Democrat said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday, โeven though you all loved to speculate about me getting into the governor’s race.”
Nelson added he looks forward to working with Republicans, who will now be the majority party in the U.S. Senate.
Last year, Nelson continually told reporters he had no interest in running for governor; although he did signal to potential supporters, he might take up the Democratic banner if gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist floundered.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott won re-election Nov. 4 by narrowly defeating Crist.
The conference call came after a meeting of LEAD โ the Leadership Expansion to Advance Democrats Task Force — set up by the Democratic leadership to identify what went wrong this year, and develop a better strategy for 2016.
As the only Democrat elected statewide, Nelson is task force co-chair.
Nelson, who serves on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, anticipates working with Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. Thune is the ranking Republican; beginning January, he will serve as committee chair.
“The two of us have a good personal as well as professional relationship,” Nelson said. “So I’m actually looking forward to getting something done in the next four years.”
