The St. Petersburg Times heard rumblings this morning, and now here’s the quake.

Nothing’s easy anymore.

While I will always have more than fond memories of my years in public office and was humbled by the outpouring of support I received over the last few weeks, now is not my time to be running for office. To sum it up, in the words of Dr. Stephen Covey, I have decided to put “First Things First”.

I will continue to stay involved in the advocacy of a vibrant, growing Republican Party and with it, 21st Century conservative solutions to the challenges we face.

All the best,

Jeb

With Bush out, the race to replace Martinez is wide open in a state that Obama carried and in a political climate where the GOP will have to defend 19 seats versus just 16 for the Democrats. A gimme in Florida would have helped — a lot. Oh well. Exit question: What’s the difference really between 59 Democratic Senators and, say, 65?