Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera Announces Run for Senate

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera said Wednesday he's running for U.S. Senate.

In a video released by his campaign in advance of an afternoon announcement in Miami, Lopez-Cantera confirmed what he's been signaling for weeks.

"I am running for the U.S. Senate so that your kids and mine can continue to live in the kind of country that gave my family the blessings of liberty and freedom that only America offers," he said on the YouTube video. "Like you, I still believe in the America that Washington has forgotten. And I'm running because I want to work for you, to be part of the solution, not part of the problem."

Lopez-Cantera is seeking the Republican nomination to succeed Rubio, who isn't running for a second term because he's running for president.

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, of Ponte Vedra Beach, and entrepreneur Todd Wilcox, of Orlando, have announced their candidacies for the Republican nomination.

U.S. Reps. David Jolly, of Indian Shores, and Jeff Miller, of Chumuckla, are expected to join the race soon.