TAMPA, Fla.  (WFLA) – Earlier this week, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn dropped what some would call a bombshell.

After intense speculation that the two-time Mayor would run for Governor in 2018, Buckhorn went on the record to say he wouldn’t be throwing his hat into the ring, saying he didn’t want to miss the major milestones in his daughters’ lives, that he didn’t want to be governor as much as he did mayor and that he appeared to be disillusioned by the current political climate.

So will Buckhorn’s announcement have any effect on the 2018 gubernatorial race?

Sunday morning, News Channel 8’s Paul Mueller sat down with former four-term Mayor Dick Greco, one-time chief financial officer of Florida and the 2010 Democrat gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink, and USF political science professor Dr. Ed Benton.

As far as Buckhorn’s possible effect on the race, Dr. Benton said, “You have to have a statewide visibility.  I’m not sure if he had that like a Charlie Crist would or a Bob Graham or someone else who’s held office and even the presumptive Republican nominee Adam Putnam.”

And could Buckhorn be posturing for another term as mayor in the future?

Mayor Dick Greco served the city as Mayor from 1967 to 1974, and then came back from 1995 to 2003.

We wanted to know if Buckhorn could be posturing himself for another term as mayor later on down the road since he’s term-limited.

“Certainly could,” Greco told News Channel 8.  “He’s young enough to do any of those things.  I’m sure he’ll stay in the political field and be active in it. Bob’s done a good job.  The city is doing great.”

And now with Buckhorn out of the race, could this in any way change the playing field for the race for Governor in 2018?

“There’s a process here and it’ll weed out the field and we’ll be able then to determine who we believe to be our best, most effective candidate is who can win the Governor’s race,” Alex Sink told us.

So as of now, three candidates have announced they will be running for governor.  They include Tallahassee Democratic Mayor Andrew Gillum, businessman Chris King, and newcomer Libertarian candidate Randy Wiseman.

Buckhorn term ends in 2019.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:

>> back to WFLA.com for more top stories