Martínez resigned his cabinet post on December 12, 2003, to run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Florida being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Bob Graham. Martínez secured the Republican nomination and narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Betty Castor. His election made him the first Cuban-American to serve in the U.S. Senate. Furthermore, he and Ken Salazar (who is Mexican-American) were the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977. They were joined by a third, Bob Menéndez (who is also Cuban-American) in January 2006, until Salazar resigned from the Senate on January 20, 2009, to become Secretary of the Interior. On December 2, 2008, Martinez announced he would not be running for re-election to the Senate in 2010.
Two weeks after resigning his Senate seat, The Hill reported that Martínez would become a lobbyist and partner at international firm DLA Piper. He left DLA Piper in August 2010 to become chairman of Chase Bank's Florida and it's operations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Martínez was born in Sagua La Grande, Cuba, to Gladys V. Ruíz and Melquíades C. Martínez. He came to the United States in 1962 as part of a Roman Catholic humanitarian effort called Operation Peter Pan, which brought into the U.S. more than 14,000 children. Catholic charitable groups provided Martinez a temporary home at two youth facilities. At the time Martínez was alone and spoke virtually no English. He subsequently lived with two foster families, and in 1966 was reunited with his family in Orlando.
Martínez received an Associate's degree from Orlando Junior College in 1967, a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs from Florida State University, and his Juris Doctor from Florida State University College of Law in 1973. He began his legal career working at the Orlando Personal Injury law firm Wooten Kimbrough, et al., where he became a partner and worked for more than a decade. During his 25 years of law practice in Orlando, he was involved in various civic organizations. He served as Vice-President of the Board of Catholic Charities of the Orlando Diocese.
In 1994, Martínez ran for Lieutenant Governor of Florida. He teamed up with former Family Research Council President Ken Connor, the gubernatorial candidate. The Connor/Martínez ticket was defeated in the Republican primary, finishing fifth with 83,945 votes, or 9.31% of the vote.
Before becoming Secretary of HUD, Martínez served on the Governor's Growth Management Study Commission. He previously served as President of the Orlando Utilities Commission, on the board of directors of a community bank, and as Chairman of the Orlando Housing Authority.
Serving as co-chairman of George W. Bush's 2000 presidential election campaign in Florida, Martínez was a leading fundraiser. He was one of the 25 electors from Florida, who voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 election. While serving as HUD Secretary, Martinez sat as an ex officio member of the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Martínez and his wife Kitty have three children (Lauren Martínez Shea, John Martínez, and Andrew Martínez) and three grandchildren. He is the brother of Rafael E. Martinez. Mel Martínez lives in the Baldwin Park neighborhood of Orlando (the neighborhood is also home to Florida's other senator, Bill Nelson) and in Washington. In November 2004, Martinez was the Republican nominee in the U.S. Senate election to replace retiring Democrat Bob Graham. Much of Martinez's support came from Washington: he was endorsed early by many prominent Republican groups, and publicly supported by key national Republican figures such as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. His Cuban background and his popularity in the battleground Orlando, Florida, region both contributed to his appeal to the statewide GOP in Florida. But Internet magazine Salon reported that Martínez wanted to run for governor in 2006, though the GOP convinced him to run for Senate two years earlier instead.
Two weeks after resigning his Senate seat, The Hill reported that Martínez would become a lobbyist and partner at international firm DLA Piper. He left DLA Piper in August 2010 to become chairman of Chase Bank's Florida and it's operations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Martínez was born in Sagua La Grande, Cuba, to Gladys V. Ruíz and Melquíades C. Martínez. He came to the United States in 1962 as part of a Roman Catholic humanitarian effort called Operation Peter Pan, which brought into the U.S. more than 14,000 children. Catholic charitable groups provided Martinez a temporary home at two youth facilities. At the time Martínez was alone and spoke virtually no English. He subsequently lived with two foster families, and in 1966 was reunited with his family in Orlando.
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Before becoming Secretary of HUD, Martínez served on the Governor's Growth Management Study Commission. He previously served as President of the Orlando Utilities Commission, on the board of directors of a community bank, and as Chairman of the Orlando Housing Authority.
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