Weldon Successor Comes Into Focus

At 11 AM, Jim Greer, the Florida Republican Chairman, endorsed Bill Posey's bid for Weldon's spot in the House of Representatives. He also "authorized national fundraising groups to support Posey -- even in a primary. The decision effectively ends any chance of GOP infighting in the Space Coast district."

The Democratic contenders are Nancy Higgs, and Steve Blythe.

Steve Blyth on NASA:

"We need to look at NASA's priorities to strengthen NASA for the future. NASA needs to get back to its' core mission; life science research utilizing the International Space Station and deep space research such as that carried out by the Hubble Telescope and Chandra radio telescope. The goals of a manned station on the moon and manned flights to Mars are distractions and far too expensive given our crumbling bridges and the huge budget deficits the Bush administration is leaving us."

Nancy Higgs has no defined space policy.

Weldon Endorses a Human Spaceflight Supporter to Take his Place

Representative Weldon of Florida has endorsed state Sen. Bill Posey to take his place. "In a letter to supporters, Weldon cited Posey's 'tremendous faith in God,' conservative business sense and commitment to the manned space flight program."

Learn More about Bill Posey and take action on weather or not you support him.

Representative Weldon of Space Coast Not Running Again

Representative Dave Weldon, of the 15th district which includes the "Space Coast" region, has announced today that he will not be running for another term after being in congress since 1994.

Representative Weldon is currently sponsoring the recently introduced bill H.R.4837 "To authorize the Space Shuttle to be flown from 2010 through 2015, and to authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for this purpose."

He also was a co-sponsor of the successful H.R.758 "To establish an interagency aerospace revitalization task force to develop a national strategy for aerospace workforce recruitment, training, and cultivation," That was signed by President Bush in December of 2006.

While Weldon's announcement should'nt necessarily impact the course of H.R.4837, it does present an important opportunity to secure a strong advocate for the space industry when he leaves.

Many are planning on running for his spot already. Actionforspace.com will keep you posted on those candidates and other developments as they occur closer to the congressional elections.