Former Florida U.S. Senator Mel Martinez endorsed GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and will serve as the Chairman of Romney’s National Advisory Council.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Martinez said, “I have great confidence that Mitt Romney is the candidate to get our country back on track. Unemployment remains a pressing issue both in Florida and across the nation. Now more than ever, we need a leader who will get our country’s fiscal house in order.”
Martinez was the first Hispanic to serve as chairman of a major political party when he became chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2006. As Senator and as GOP Chairman, the Cuban-born Martinez worked closely with President George W. Bush to convince his fellow conservative lawmakers to support comprehensive immigration reform.
The Washington Post’s The Fix points out, “Interestingly, Martinez quit the Senate in 2009 in large part because his party refused to consider comprehensive immigration reform that would have included a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants. Romney has been attacking Perry on the campaign trail as too soft on immigration.”
