Peter Schorsch
The state Senate’s Republican members will meet Dec. 2 to formally select state Sen. Joe Negron as Senate President-designate for the 2016-18 Legislative Term.
Senate President Andy Gardiner announced the move in a Monday press release, making official what FloridaPolitics.com first reported last week: That state Sen. Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican, had ceded the race to Negron, a Stuart Republican, and agreed to serve instead as the chamber’s budget chief.
“Joe is an experienced, conservative leader with a strong work ethic,” said Gardiner, an Orlando Republican. “Having served terms as the Appropriations Chair in both the House and the Senate, he understands how to mesh public policy goals with financial realities.”
The Senate’s GOP caucus leads Democrats in the 40-member chamber by 26-14.
“I am pleased to see the caucus unite around Senator Negron as our President-Designate and look forward to celebrating with Joe, his family, and their friends from Stuart, and across Florida, when we meet in December for his official designation as our next Senate President,” Gardner said.
Last week’s announcement ended the neck-and-neck and often contentious race between Negron and Latvala.
In a joint interview with reporters late Thursday, Latvala said he realized over the last week he had been too consumed with the politics of the Senate, and not enough with policymaking, which convinced him to concede.
And Negron said he’s confident the GOP caucus will pull together now that the fractious presidency contest is over.
