Via Josh Kraushaar comes news that Florida's Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat, is considering a challenge to relatively unpopular freshman Republican Senator Mel Martinez.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Florida's only Democratic elected executive officer, discussed the state of Florida's economy in a breakfast with reporters from the St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald. The former bank executive has begun calling banks on behalf of the Florida Home Builders Association, which has pleaded for a "time out" from banks calling in builders' construction loans.

[...]

On the subject of politics, Sink promised a decision soon on her political future which could include running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mel Martinez in 2010, running for governor, or staying put, and perhaps preparing for a run for governor in 2014 when the office will be open.

"I'm going to make up my mind very soon," Sink said. "It's all about what's best for me, and what's best for the state."

Kraushaar notes, I think correctly, that Sink has a better shot at knocking off Martinez in two years than she does at defeating Republican Governor Charlie Crist. The most recent polling shows Crist holding a 68 percent approval rating to Martinez' 42 percent, and early polling from over the summer showed Martinez trailing Sink in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.

If the Democrats can recruit a suitable candidate -- whether it's Sink, or it's Bob Wexler, or someone else -- this will be one of the paramount races of 2010. And while it is no sure thing that the Democrats will be able to win this election, the Democrats have had a good run in competitive swing state Senate elections in the last couple cycles (think Democratic wins in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Missouri in 2006, and Colorado, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire this cycle).