Democrat Jeff Clemens declines run for Patrick Murphy’s seat in Congress

State Sen. Jeff Clemens

Saying he is opting to turn down a “huge pay raise,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Clemens has announced he will not seek the 18th Congressional District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy.

“Why would I run for Congress, when Tallahassee has become so entertaining lately?” said Clemens, referring to the chain reaction of mistrust and bitterness that has arisen since House Speaker Steve Crisafulli‘s abrupt withdrawal this week three days before the scheduled end of the Legislative Session.

“Besides, I have a tremendous amount of confidence that we’ll have a fantastic candidate who will keep that seat in Democratic hands.”

Just who that candidate will be is a mystery. North Palm Beach lawyer Pam Keith, currently building a little-noticed run for U.S. Senate, has considered running but has not committed. She reportedly has met with Murphy on the subject, a conversation that was evidently inconclusive.

Sounding insouciant and somewhat snarky in his press release, Clemens also referred to his nationally reported kerfuffle with a Scott administration official over use of the term “climate change,” said to be prohibited — and  later unbanned — from official documents and testimony by the governor’s office.

“I still have a lot of things I want to accomplish in Tallahassee, and I’m hoping that some of them will involve getting more people to be afraid of words,” Clemens said. “Oh, and climate change. It would be good for them to fear actual climate change, too.”

House Democratic Leader Rep. Mark Pafford, also from Palm Beach County, is not known to have the tightest relationship with Clemens, who has expressed interest in the Senate Minority Leader position after the 2018 elections. But in a exclusive quote to Florida Politics, Pafford sounded a conciliatory tone.

“Jeff Clemens is an asset to the people he represents, including me,” Pafford said Thursday. “There’s no doubt he would have been a great candidate for Congress. But I have to say I’m glad my senator is staying put and I’m happy our great legislative relationship will continue.”