Atwater won't pursue 2016 Senate bid

BY THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

State Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater said Thursday he won't run for the U.S. Senate in 2016. After taking a second look at potentially running, Atwater released a statement saying the place for him right now is the Cabinet office to which he was re-elected in 2014. "As I have said before, I am thrilled and honored to be the CFO of Florida,” Atwater said in a statement released by his political adviser. "Despite the gracious words of encouragement from supporters and friends to once again consider a different path, I still believe the best place for me to serve the people of Florida is as their CFO. I enthusiastically tackle the duties of my office every day and will continue these efforts to make certain government at all levels is held to the highest standard and is accountable to the people it serves." Atwater announced in April that he would not run for Republican Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate seat, regardless of Rubio's decision on a bid for the presidency. Rubio later announced he would run for the White House, opening up the Senate seat. However, in late September, Atwater told reporters he was reconsidering the idea of running. The GOP primary field includes Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Congressman Ron DeSantis, Congressman David Jolly and Orlando businessman Todd Wilcox.