Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos is preparing a campaign to seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. He has scheduled a fund-raising event for Feb. 3.

An e-mail from GOP fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke invited Republican donors to a “private strategy meeting” in Orlando and asked them to bring $10,000 to help fund Haridopolos’ campaign, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Haridopolos publicly bashed Nelson in a letter in July for backing Obamacare, his “inaction” concerning the mothballing of the space shuttle fleet, and the federal response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

He had been expected to challenge Nelson, and the combination of the letter and a campaign website indicates it's official, the Sentinel reported.