TAMPA — Two of Florida’s household political name political figures have announced they will not seek the U.S. Senate seat Marco Rubio will almost certainly abandon to seek the presidency. Those who write snarky political columns — mentioning no names — will have to make do without the outrageousness of Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee chairwomanperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and without the unbearable lightness of Charlie Crist.

Wasserman Schultz announced Tuesday that she will seek re-election to her South Beach congressional seat. In a Facebook entry Monday Crist said he would not seek any political office in 2016. This is a bit surprising to those for whom Florida politics is a favorite indoor sport, as the 58-year-old Crist has done nothing but seek and hold political office since he was elected to the Florida Senate in 1992. And with Crist, the fact that he has said he will or won’t do something is no guarantee that he will or won’t do whatever it is he said he will or won’t do. 

Before making his Facebook announcement, Crist made a series of phone calls to supporters. Perhaps he and they had a series of lucid moments. After all Crist lost the very Senate seat in question to Rubio in 2010 by 20 points, and lost the governorship of Florida last November to Rick Scott, one of the most charmless and least popular office holders in Florida history.

Wasserman Shultz almost certainly decided to play it safe and stick with the congressional seat she will have no trouble winning rather than mounting a statewide race in a state she is too liberal for. This leaves the Great Mentioner mainly with two liberal Florida Congressmen, Patrick Murphy of Jupiter and Alan Grayson of Orlando, to seek the Senate seat on the Democratic side. Though others may surface. On the Republican side, most ink and air-time are being devoted to Florida CFO Jeff Atwater and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.