State Rep. Marcelo Llorente is pulling out of a three-way Republican primary for the state Senate in 2010 and setting his sights on the Miami-Dade County mayor's office in 2012.

A press release said one of his Senate rivals, state Rep. David Rivera, will attend the official announcement Tuesday, but Llorente said he is not throwing his support behind Rivera. Rivera outraised Llorente $235,335 to $133,750 in the first three months of this year for the Senate race.

''I felt comfortable with where we were in the Senate race,'' said Llorente, of Miami. ``At the end of the day, my decision was about wanting to spend more time with my children at home, not in Tallahassee.''

The third Republican in the race, state Rep. Anitere Flores, raised $9,025 through the end of March. A survey last week by Florida International University associate professor Dario Moreno showed Rivera beating Flores by a 2-1 margin. More than half of the voters were undecided. Moreno said Llorente was not included in the poll, which was conducted for a private client.

The Senate district is currently represented by Alex Villalobos, who said he had been planning to help Llorente take his seat. Villalobos is a potential contender for county mayor himself, along with county Commissioners Carlos Gimenez, Rebeca Sosa and Joe Martinez.

Term limits will force Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez to step down in 2012.