Jeb Bush said mulling U.S. Senate run

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Republican political strategists say former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is leaning toward running for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., has announced he will retire rather than run again in two years, and, although Bush has not made up his mind to run, indications are that he's preparing to launch a campaign, unnamed sources told the Washington publication Politico.

Bush, the brother U.S. President George Bush and son of former President George H.W. Bush, is contacting state party leaders, indicating he could be laying the groundwork for campaign fundraising, observers told the publication.

But Bush is not alone. Current Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, former GOP U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum and Democratic chief state financial officer Alex Sink are the three other politicians whose names most often surface as possible successors to Martinez, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

If Sink hesitates, other Democratic Senate possibilities include U.S. Reps. Ron Klein of Boca Raton and Allen Boyd of Monticello, and state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, the Sentinel said.