That didn't take long.

State Senate Majority Leader Alex Diaz de la Portilla said he's interested in running for Congress now that U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart is leaving. Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, is being forced from state office due to term limits as his own older brother, former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, runs for his seat. The senator's younger brother, Renier Diaz de la Portilla, is a Miami-Dade School Board member. So it's a good bet that the family has strong name ID, giving the senator a good shot of being dubbed a front-runner should he throw in his hat. If he and his brother win, each Diaz de la Portilla brother would represent a different level of government: federal, state and local.

Also, the senator has recently made an alliance with lobbyist/political strategist Dave Custin, who works for the Diaz-Balarts as well as Diaz de la Portilla's sometime-rival, Sen. Alex Villalobos.

"I have had the honor and privilege of serving my community as a state senator and I am seriously considering the opportunity to continue to fight for the people of Florida on a national level in the United State Congress. I will make my final decision soon after thoughtful and deliberate consideration,” Diaz de la Portilla wrote in an e-mail.

Marc Caputo