Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he and his Senate colleagues have been lobbying Sen. Marco Rubio to change his mind and seek re-election in Florida this year, after Mr. Rubio had taken himself out of the running for Senate once he launched his White House bid.
“One of the things that I’m hoping, I and my colleagues have been trying to convince Senator Marco Rubio to run again in Florida,” Mr. McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview conducted on Monday.
“He had indicated he was not going to, but we’re all hoping that he’ll reconsider, because poll data indicates that he is the one who can win for us,” Mr. McConnell said.
“We’re all lobbying hard for him to run again,” Mr. McConnell said. “He’s been back in the Senate for six weeks. He’s, I believe, enjoying it, and being effective.”
The filing deadline in Florida is in late June.
“So I haven’t given up hope,” Mr. McConnell said. “He hasn’t said yes yet, but there are an awful lot of us who think that it would not only be good for him and for Florida, but good for the Senate if he ran again.”
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Mr. Rubio had said he would not simultaneously seek re-election to the Senate while he ran for president. He dropped out of the 2016 GOP presidential race in March and has been getting encouragement from his colleagues in recent weeks to change his mind about the Senate race.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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