Florida: Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) "has formed an exploratory committee to prepare running for the Senate, becoming the first credible Republican candidate to formally prepare for a campaign to succeed retiring Sen. Mel Martinez," the Scorecard reports. Of course, Rubio and other top Republicans considering running for the open seat--such as Reps. Connie Mack and Vern Buchanan--will wait until popular Gov. Charlie Crist (R) announces if he is running for the seat before making an official move of their own. Crist has said that he will not make his decision until May, but if he does jump into the Senate race, expect the primary field to clear for him--and expect Rubio, along with other top Florida Republicans, to run for governor.
Illinois: The Hill reports that former Commerce Secretary William Daley (D) is strongly leaning towards running for Sen. Roland Burris' (D) seat in 2010. Daley's brother is the mayor of Chicago, so he would instantly have establishment support--but he would also bear the burden of the Chicago machine. If he enters the race, he will face off against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) and possibly Burris himself in the Democratic primary, so while he would start off as a front-runner, he would by no means be shoo-in to win the nomination. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D) has also not yet ruled out a run, but she was more keen on the idea of running in a special election, which is looking less and less likely.
New York-B: Rep. Steve Israel is yet another downstate Democrat that is considering challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a Democratic primary, according to the New York Times. Israel joins Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who are all openly considering bids for 2010.
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