Donald Trump on Marco Rubio Senate seat in Florida: ‘Run Marco!’

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump appears to be giving Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida a bit of a nudge to try to hold onto his current job.

“Poll data shows that @marcorubio does by far the best in holding onto his Senate seat in Florida. Important to keep the MAJORITY. Run Marco!” Mr. Trump tweeted Thursday evening.

Mr. Rubio, first elected in 2010, opted not to simultaneously seek re-election when he decided to run for president. He dropped out of the race for the White House after a disappointing finish in Florida on March 15.

But with the filing deadline in Florida about a month away, he’s been getting some pressure to reconsider. Sen. Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement Thursday that he encouraged Mr. Rubio to rethink his decision.

Mr. Corker, who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick for Mr. Trump, met with the billionaire businessman in New York City earlier this week.

Mr. Rubio also said in a portion of an interview published hours before Mr. Trump’s tweet on Thursday that he’s likely to attend the GOP convention and that he would speak on Mr. Trump’s behalf if asked.

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SEE ALSO: Marco Rubio colleagues urge him to run for re-election to Senate

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“My sense is I’m going to go to the convention,” Mr. Rubio told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I don’t know if I’ll have a role in the convention, but I have a lot of people going there that were supporters.”

Mr. Rubio also said he would speak on Mr. Trump’s behalf if asked.

“I want to be helpful. I don’t want to be harmful,” he said. “I don’t want Hillary Clinton to be president.”

Mr. Rubio did say the door is still closed on being Mr. Trump’s running mate.

“He deserves to have a running mate that more fully embraces some of the things he stands for,” he said.

Mr. Rubio has downplayed talk of re-entering the Senate race, but didn’t rule out the possibility of a future run for political office.