U.S. Rep. Connie Mack said he wouldn't run for U.S. Senate — now adviser says he's in

"The time is not right for me," (U.S. Rep. Connie) Mack said. "You have to put family and friends above political ambitions, and that is what I have done."
—March 25, 2011, Fort Myers News-Press

"Connie Mack is running for the U.S. Senate. ...," said David James, a senior adviser.
—Oct. 26, 2011, Miami Herald

In March 2011, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack said he would make a major announcement on the Lee County Courthouse steps. 

It was the spot where his father, Connie Mack III, had announced a Senate run in 1987.

Some assumed the Fort Myers Republican would enter the 2012 race to face Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

Instead, he said his family would come first. He would seek re-election to his House seat rather than run for U.S. Senate.

"I've got two small children and it’s hard enough to get to spend a lot of good quality time now. I have a wife. They are all very important to me and at the end of the day family has to be No. 1," Mack told the St. Petersburg Times.

In July, when his friend state Senate President Mike Haridopolos dropped out of the Republican race for Nelson's seat, the question came up again.

Mack had been seen in Washington, D.C., meeting with a political strategist. Might he be planning to step into the Senate contest?

He told St. Petersburg Times reporter Alex Leary he was focused on his current job.

"So you're ruling it out?" Leary asked.

His reply: "Yeah."

In August, he spoke to Lee County Women Republicans. He said he kept hearing his name mentioned as a candidate, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.

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"He's getting in the race," adviser David James told the St. Petersburg Times. "Making calls, assembling a team. He will have more to say in an announcement in weeks to come."

"Connie Mack is running for the U.S. Senate," James told the Miami Herald. 'He is making calls. He is assembling a team. And he will have more to announce about the run in the weeks ahead."

"I can confirm that he is getting in," he told the News-Press.

Mack has yet to make an official announcement. But an adviser speaking for him says he'll be running for the seat that less than a year ago he declared he wouldn't pursue for the sake of his "two small children." We'll revisit our ruling if Mack fails to join the race. But for now, he's gone from ruling it out to assembling a team. That warrants a Full Flop.