Jim Rosica
Hours after telling supporters he had “not yet come to a decision” on whether he would run for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Florida Congressman Daniel Webster called an audible: He’s in it to win it.
Webster made the announcement during the Sean Hannity radio program Friday afternoon.
Hannity asked, “Will you run for speaker?”
“Yes, I will,” Webster answered.
In an earlier email on Friday, the Central Florida Republican played Hamlet, saying he wasn’t sure – while asking for campaign contributions.
The 66-year-old faces an uncertain future as the Florida courts decide how to settle a court challenge over gerrymandering in Florida’s 27 congressional districts.
Webster’s request to intervene in the ongoing case was denied; proposed new boundary lines would make his district much more Democratic, ensuring his political demise.
His email Friday afternoon said, “It is time for us to turn a new page in the House – one that promotes principle-based policy.”
Webster unsuccessfully challenged outgoing House Speaker John Boehner earlier this year.
Boehner announced Friday morning he was leaving the speakership and Congress as he faced a possible floor vote to stay on as speaker, “a formal challenge that hasn’t happened in over 100 years,” The Associated Press noted.
Webster, a conservative icon in the Sunshine State, said. “Many members of Congress and supporters, above and beyond those who voted to elect me as Speaker in January, have already reached out to ask me to run.”
“I am honored that they would consider me, however, I have not yet come to a decision on what I will do,” he said in the email. “I strongly believe that something must change if we are going to move our country in the right direction.”
He went on:
As I continue to reflect on my next steps, I must again ask for your help. We are near the end of a critical fundraising deadline next week. With this news about Speaker Boehner, your contribution becomes even more important.Will you join me and contribute today as I fight for a better, more effective Washington? Even $25, $50, $100 or $1000 will help me to push down the pyramid of power so we can create a better future for our country.
“Every dollar that you contribute will help me fight for principled leadership in the U.S. House,” he said.
Webster was on the forefront of the Republican Party’s rise to statewide power in Florida in the 1990s. He eventually served longer than any other state lawmaker before Florida instituted term limits.
During his days in the Capitol, he was Florida House Speaker (1996-98) and Senate Republican Leader before his election to Congress in 2010.
