Republicans rally ’round Altman

June 09th, 2008 | Category: Florida Politics Blog

Now that a special election has been called to replace the departing state Sen. Bill Posey of Rockledge, Senate Republicans are rallying around Rep. Thad Altman of Viera as the main contender to succeed Posey in the District 24 Space Coast seat. Senate President Ken Pruitt, his designated successor, Sen. Jeff Atwater, and other GOP senators are on the host committee for a fund-raiser next week. It’s at the Governor’s Club in Tallahassee on June 18.

Posey’s four-year term wasn’t set to run out

until 2010, but he’s hoping to replace the retiring Dave Weldon in Congress in November, so his successor in the Senate will be chosen next, too. Altman, a 53-year-old contractor, was elected to the House in a 2003 special election. There already is one other announced candidate for Posey’s seat in 2010 — former Rep. Bob Allen of Merritt Island, who was forced to quit after his sex-solicitation conviction in a public restroom final year.