TALLAHASSEE — Longtime Tampa Bay legislator Darryl Rouson is leaving the state Senate later this year because of term limits.
But he still could return to Tallahassee. Rouson, a Democrat, told the Times/Herald on Friday that he was considering a run for the House this year.
He said people have been calling him, wanting his leadership and experience in the seat.
“I’ll make a decision sometime after Easter,” he said.
That House seat would likely be House District 62, occupied by Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner, who is leaving to run to replace Rouson in Senate District 16.
The House district is similar to Rouson’s Senate one, with both encompassing south St. Petersburg and stretching across the bay to portions of central and southern Hillsborough County.
Three Democrats have already filed for that House seat: Former Charlie Crist staffer Kyandra Darling, former Rayner legislative aide Upton Fisher and former state Rep. Wengay Newton. No Republicans have filed yet for it.
Darling has raised about $77,000, by far the most of the three.
Entering the race for the House seat would likely make Rouson, 70, the immediate front-runner.
The attorney and former head of the St. Petersburg NAACP has been a fixture in Tampa Bay politics for decades. He was first elected to the House in 2008 and served until term limits prompted him to run for the Senate.
During his 18 years in the Legislature, he established himself as a bipartisan operator and master at getting projects into the budget. As someone who once battled cocaine and alcohol addiction, Rouson became a respected voice for opioid recovery resources in the Legislature.
“When you build relationships with those who have the power, they’re more willing to share,” he told the Times/Herald last week. “And that’s all I’ve done all these years.”
