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Associated PressHe's the fifth Democrat and the first from North Florida hankering for the seat if Bob Graham vacates it.
TALLAHASSEE - U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd of Monticello on Thursday became the fifth Democrat to say he's readied a campaign team to pursue his party's U.S. Senate nomination if incumbent Bob Graham does not seek re-election.
Former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor of Tampa, Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas and two of Boyd's colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, Alcee Hastings of Miramar and Peter Deutsch of Pembroke Pines, also hope to replace Graham, who is seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
"It is important to me to be respectful of Bob Graham as we launch this effort," said Boyd, a 58-year-old former state legislator and Vietnam veteran.
Boyd said his Army background would help contrast him with the other candidates.
"That's a positive for me," he said. "I'm proud of that service. It's an important part of my makeup."
A lifelong farmer born in Valdosta, Ga., Boyd was elected to the Florida House in a 1989 special election. He was elected to Congress in 1996, succeeding Rep. Pete Peterson, who was appointed ambassador to Vietnam. In winning re-election in his North Florida district in 2000, he was the only Florida Democrat to win a U.S. House race in a district carried by Republican presidential candidate George Bush.
Now in his fourth House term, Boyd has a seat on the influential appropriations, agriculture and military construction committees.
On the Republican side, U.S. Reps. Mark Foley of West Palm Beach and Dave Weldon of Palm Bay, former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum of Longwood and state House Speaker Johnnie Byrd of Plant City are in a field of hopefuls eyeing Graham's seat that also includes Gwyndolyn McClellan of Sarasota and perennial candidate Andy Martin of West Palm Beach.