North Florida Congressional seat opens

FL-12 seat opens up according to WFTV as the current Representative Putnam, is registering to run for Agriculture Commissioner after being a high ranking Republican in Congress. Something tells me he gave up on Congress and is now looking at building name rec for a run at the Governor's spot.

Putnam tells The Associated Press he will file paperwork to officially enter the race on Monday. He was the third most powerful Republican in the House until the last election, when he decided not to seek another term as chair of the House Republican Conference.

Not sure why you'd give up that seniority unless you thought your party in Congress is screwed and you'd have to wait forever or your looking at running for a spotlight office, and Agriculture commissioner, ain't one.

Update: yeah Politico tells it like it is:

Most Floridians view the commissioner’s job as a stepping stone to the governor's office.

and

But his announcement marks the departure of a rising star in the party who has decided to pursue a state office rather than remain in Washington, where Republicans face deeper minorities in the House and Senate.

Apparently it's because the party leadership once Hastert left didn't like him, and cause he was an ardent supporter of TARP. And apparently as noted by another Politico article [and I will take quotes extensively since Polk County might as well as be in Haiti considering my knowledge of the area:

Putnam is the fourth fifth House Republican to announce he’s not running for re-election, and the first to vacate a potentially competitive Congressional district.

....

Putnam’s Polk County-based district, by contrast, favors Republicans, but isn't out of reach for a credible Democratic candidate. There are more registered Democrats than Republicans within the district lines. And Obama ran competitively here, winning about 48 percent of the vote against John McCain.

On the Republican side, state Rep. Baxter Thompson, state Attorney Jerry Hill and former state Rep. Dennis Ross are potential candidates.

For the Democrats, former state senator Rick Dantzler and retired Naval officer Doug Tudor (who won 42 percent of the vote against Putnam last year) are expected to consider the race.

Sounds like there's an outside chance here, and with the Dems being in power, more people will want someone who can bring pork to the district. In other words, we'll see just how good Karen Thurman is in her own area considering this like one county away and isn't far from where her son ran for the state legislature.