Sen. Marco Rubio deflected questions Monday about whether he would reconsider a re-election bid after an Islamic State-inspired U.S. citizen carried out the nation’s worst-ever mass shooting in his home state of Florida.
Asked by radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt whether the attack changes his thinking, Mr. Rubio said, “I haven’t even given it thought in that perspective other than to say that I’ve been deeply impacted by it.”
“I think when it visits your home state, and it impacts a community you know well, it really gives you pause to think a little bit about, you know, your service to your country and where you can be most useful to your country,” the Republican senator said.
Mr. Rubio, 45, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has called for a more muscular military approach to international terrorism, said that he would not seek re-election to the seat after entering the race for president last year.
He has thrown his support behind Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, a friend who decided to run after Mr. Rubio announced he would take a pass.
But since he dropped out of the presidential race in March, Mr. Rubio has faced increased pressure to rethink the decision given that the race is considered a tossup — giving Democrats an opportunity to cut into the Senate GOP majority.
Mr. Hewitt’s questioning Monday signaled that Mr. Rubio could be pushed harder to jump into the race after the Sunday morning attack that left 50 people dead, including the shooter, at a gay night club in Orlando.
“Well, as I said, my family and I will be praying about all this, and we’ll see what I need to do next with my life in regards to how I can best serve,” he said.
The deadline for Mr. Rubio to file for re-election is June 24.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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