Failed presidential candidate Marco Rubio hated being a United States Senator, but he needs a job, so Rubio has broken his promise to the voters of Florida and decided to run for reelection.
In May, Rubio tweeted:
I have only said like 10000 times I will be a private citizen in January.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 17, 2016
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Nearly five weeks later, Rubio is singing a different tune.
Sen. Marco Rubio will announce Wednesday he will seek re-election to the Senate, reversing a pledge he made a year ago to either assume the presidency or return to private life in Florida, instantly transforming an already competitive race and improving the chances that Republicans can maintain the Senate majority.
Senate Republicans are desperate to keep their majority, and they have been pressuring Rubio to run for reelection. Sen. Rubio needs a job, and after surveying the private sector and discovering that employers there will want him to do something if they hire him, being a Republican Senator and getting paid to do nothing probably started to look really good to Rubio.
Marco Rubio is damaged goods now. He is no longer the bright star that he once was. Sure, he could keep Florida’s Senate seat in Republican hands through the power of his fundraising prowess and incumbency, but it is also possible that Rubio gets swept out of office in the anti-Trump wave that appears to be building.
If the voters in Florida reelect Rubio, they should demand that he serve a full six-year term in office. It is obvious that Rubio is only returning to the Senate to position himself for another run for president in 2020. Rubio wants to run against Hillary Clinton, and if the voters of Florida make the mistake of sending him back to the Senate, they will be stuck with a part-time Senator whose total attention will remain focused on running for the White House.
Hopefully, Florida’s voters are smart enough not to make the same mistake twice.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
