With Sink's Senate Hopes down the Drain, Gelber Gears Up

Alex Sink's decision not to enter the Senate fray was big news, but not all that shocking. We wrote yesterday it seemed she was much more keen on staying in Tallahassee, possibly running for governor in either 2010 or 2014. What is shocking is that now both sides of the field are more or less wide open (Charlie Crist put a bit of a damper on talks that he might run.) 

So sensing an opportunity, Democrat state Sen. Dan Gelber, who represents Miami Beach, is all but officially in the running. Like Kendrick Meek, Gelber has signed up an Obama operative to work on his campaign: Steve Schale, who ran Obama's campaign in Florida. But it's not often in Florida that a state senator makes the jump to the U.S. Senate. Lawton Chiles was the last to do that, and he earned himself statewide popularity by orchestrating a legendary walking tour across the Sunshine State. Gelber, you better lace up your walking shoes.

So far, this puts two Miami-Dade-based politicians in the running for the Democratic nomination. Niether has much statewide name recognition, and they both might cut into the other's natural geographic area of support.