Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Tuesday she won’t run for a Senate seat from Florida in 2016.
Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that she plans to run for reelection for her House seat and serve out her full term as DNC chair.
She is slated to wrap up her term as DNC chair in January 2017 and speculation has swirled around a possible run by the congresswoman.
Wasserman Schultz said she has “gotten tremendous encouragement from constituents” in her district, Floridians and donors, but ultimately decided against a Senate run.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist, another Florida Democrat, also said this week that he would not seek the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who is up for reelection in 2016.
Rubio is eying a presidential run and has said he would not campaign to keep his Senate seat if he decides to run for president.
Wasserman Schultz’s announcement opens a wider path for two of her Democratic colleagues in Florida’s congressional delegation who are considering a Senate run: Reps. Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson.
Wasserman Schultz insisted that Democrats would have a strong field of potential hopefuls to retake the Republican-held seat.
“Whether it’s against Marco Rubio or in an open seat there is a real opportunity to make sure that we have the leadership that Floridians can count on,” she said.
