WASHINGTON - The Bush dynasty in Washington may not be over just yet.

Even as President George W. Bush is packing his bags to head to Texas after eight years in the White House, he is stirring up a little political curiosity about his “little” brother Jeb possibly running for the U.S. Senate seat in Florida.

In an interview with the blog RealClearPolitics published this week, President Bush was asked if Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, would be part of comeback by Republicans in 2010 after a drubbing in the last two congressional elections.

“He would be an awesome U.S. senator,” Bush replied. The seat up in 2010 is being vacated by Republican Sen. Mel Martinez who decided earlier this month not to run for another term.

Political analysts expect the Florida race to be one of the most competitive and he would join a few other potential family dynasty extensions if Caroline Kennedy is picked for the New York Senate seat Hillary Clinton is vacating soon, and then runs in 2010, and if Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s son Beau runs for his father’s seat.

Jeb Bush is considering a run but is not expected to make a decision before the end of the year. Pushed about whether Republicans need him in the race, the president of course threw his support to his sibling.

“I think the party would benefit a lot by having Jeb Bush in the U.S. Senate,” Bush said. “I think Florida would benefit a lot. I think the country would benefit a lot. And I think the Republican Party would benefit a lot. He is a proven leader who, when given responsibilities, succeeded.”

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque (The Bush men together after christening an aircraft carrier named after President George H.W. Bush in 2006.)

Posted by Michael Peltier and Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON — Republican Mel Martinez of Florida — a Cuban immigrant who says he lived “The American Dream” — is calling it quits as a member of the U.S. Senate.

Having narrowly won a first term in 2004 and facing an anticipated tough re-election in 2010, Martinez announced on Tuesday he will not run for a second term.

“The inescapable truth, for me, is that the call to public service is strong — but the call to home, family and lifelong friends is even stronger,” Martinez said in a statement that he read at a news conference in Orlando, Florida, and was also released in Washington.

Martinez made his declaration almost a month after the Nov. 4 elections that saw Democrats expand their majorities in Senate and House of Representatives, largely because of the unpopularity of outgoing Republican President George W. Bush and the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression.

Martinez is the second U.S. senator up for re-election in 2010 who has announced he will not seek another term. The other is Sam Brownback of Kansas, who’s also a Republican. Both plan to complete their six-year terms before leaving.

Thirty-five seats of the 100 Senate seats will be up for grabs in two years, 16 of them held by Democrats, 19 by Republicans.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which tracks congressional races, had listed Martinez as among the most vulnerable incumbents. It had called his race as a “tossup.”

Martinez, 62, came to the United States at age 15, graduated from college, earned a law degree and ended up getting elected to the Senate after serving in Bush’s Cabinet as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

“We proved the American Dream is alive and well,” Martinez said. He said his decision not to seek another term was personal, not political.

“Some might try to characterize this decision in terms of political affairs. Some will say a re-election campaign would have been too difficult. But I’ve faced much tougher odds in political campaigns and in life. My decision was not based on reelection prospects, but on what I want to do with the next eight years of my life,” the senator said.

Democrats and Republicans are certain to move quickly in a search for possible candidates to replace him.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith (Martinez speaks during the Republican National Convention in September.)