Radel checked into a rehabilitation clinic for addiction last week. Florida GOP chairs want Radel out

Three top Florida Republican leaders — including the state party chairman — say Rep. Trey Radel should resign less than one week after he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine.

State party Chairman Lenny Curry; Lee County GOP Chairman Terry Miller; and Mike Lyster, party chairman of Collier County issued statements late Monday saying the Florida Republican should step down.


Miller and Lyster’s statements were identical. They also said if he runs for reelection in 2014, Radel “would not enjoy our support.”

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“While the decision to complete the current term is his alone to make, we strongly encourage him to reflect on his ability to remain effective and that a return to Congress may serve only as an impediment to his recovery,” the pair said in separate statements. “We feel it is in the best interests of all involved that he resign immediately. We hope that he can focus solely on his rehabilitation and allow the citizens to begin their own healing process. We thank Trey for his service and wish only the best for him and his family.”

In his statement, Curry said, “The people of Florida’s 19th Congressional District need a Congressman who is 100 percent focused on the needs of Southwest Florida. Therefore, Congressman Radel should step down and focus his attention on rehabilitation and his family.”

Radel, a first-term Republican from Fort Myers, Fla., checked into a rehabilitation clinic for addiction last week. He was swept up in a federal drug sting in October, when he bought cocaine from an undercover federal agent in Washington. Radel has taken a leave of absence from the House until the end of the year. His staff has not put a timeline on his stay in rehab.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have not said Radel should resign but rather that it is up to the congressman, his family and constituents.

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But there’s been a shift in the Republican establishment against Radel. In an interview with POLITICO last week, Miller said he was unsure if he would call on Radel to resign.

“Those are conversations we’re going to have to have farther down the road,” Miller told POLITICO. “I’m not going to confirm or deny that’s something I might or might not do. I honestly, at this juncture, I don’t know what my role as chairman and the role of the local party will be. The man needs help. Let him start that process.”

Miller and Lyster said in their statements Monday that the “purchase and use of illicit drugs” was a “shock and disappointment” to “not only to his constituents, but also to those who call him a friend.”

The three statements will most likely increase pressure on Radel to resign and certainly heighten the possibility that he will be unseated in November.

The Southwest Florida district, which stretches from Fort Myers to Naples, is solidly Republican. Several candidates who lost to Radel in a competitive 2012 primary — including Chauncey Goss, whose father served eight terms in the House — have been publicly critical of Radel. Many are already mulling a run for his seat. Former Rep. Connie Mack, who vacated the seat to run for the U.S. Senate, also is seen as eyeing another run.