NRCC: Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, will not move to Tom Rooney's congressional district

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, will not move to run for retiring Rep. Tom Rooney's seat, the National Republican Congressional Committee told TCPalm Tuesday.

The NRCC shut down rumors that Mast, a freshman running for re-election in a swing district, would move to run for Rooney's reliably Republican seat in a neighboring district.

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Mast's seat is in District 18, which spans the coast through Martin and St. Lucie counties and a northern portion of Palm Beach County. He's facing Democrats Lauren Baer and Pam Keith.

Rooney's seat is in District 17, which stretches from the Tampa suburbs, south to Lee County and east to the edge of the Treasure Coast, encompassing a mix of cattle farms, citrus groves and some of the state's fastest-growing communities.

Rooney previously represented part of the Treasure Coast before the state redistricted congressional seats prior to the 2012 election. Rooney moved to Okeechobee to run in a safer seat.

More: Guest column: Tom Rooney: We can’t leave Florida’s fate in Obama’s hands

The NRCC's announcement about Mast came the same day the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it has named Baer, a former Obama administration foreign policy adviser, to its Red to Blue program.

That DCCC program gives key candidates additional guidance and staff resources not available to other Democratic candidates.