State Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, spent most of his life in Fort Lauderdale, and represents much of the city.
He’s being whispered about as a possible future candidate for mayor. He didn’t declare himself a candidate during a brief interview Thursday — but he also didn’t reject the idea.
“It’s a possibility,” he said. “Anything’s a possibility. … I think it’s worth having a conversation about.”
Nothing is happening any time soon.
The job isn’t open until 2028, when just-reelected Mayor Dean Trantalis can’t run again because of term limits. LaMarca leaves the state House of Representatives in 2026 because of term limits.
A Republican Party insider raised the prospect of a LaMarca run for Fort Lauderdale mayor after the South Florida Sun Sentinel published an article in late November on potential candidates for Congress and Florida Senate.
LaMarca said at the time he might run for one of those jobs or, he added cryptically, he might “do something locally.” He declined to elaborate. So, possibly Fort Lauderdale mayor? On Thursday, LaMarca said the political landscape can change quickly, and said he does not know what he’ll do next.