Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential aspirations and insistence that he was done with the Senate didn’t hurt him with GOP voters, now it’s time to see if the rest of Florida will be as forgiving as he seeks a second term.
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“I just couldn’t be at peace with the idea that we were going to not just potentially lose the Senate seat but lose the balance of power in the Senate at this critical moment in our nation’s history”, Rubio said in his primary night victory speech in Kissimmee, explaining why he made a decision to run again.
Rubio, who insisted four months ago that he didn’t want his Senate job anymore, won 72 percent of the vote in the Republican primary against the brash, self-funding millionaire Carlos Beruff and two lesser known candidates.
“Now, he’s tried to do that in the past by talking about how successful he’s been in the private sector”.
Likewise, Rubio was fixated on Murphy in the closing days, calling him “one of the most unaccomplished members of Congress”.
Rubio and Murphy have been giving a preview of their general election match up for weeks now, focusing on each other rather than their primary opponents.
“Marco Rubio is the worst of Washington because he puts himself first every time. I’m looking forward”, Murphy said.
“I’m humbled by and grateful for our success tonight and for the honor to be the Arizona Republican Party’s nominee for election to the United States Senate”, McCain expressed Tuesday night after turning 80 the day before.
“He wants to be a U.S. Senator, he’s going to have to earn it by beating the son of a bartender and a maid who came to this country in search of a better life”, Rubio said.
Murphy didn’t accept or reject the offer, instead challenged Rubio to serve a full six year term if reelected.
Rubio’s numbers in the polls have been stronger than those of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“With a vacancy on the Supreme Court, with the potential that Chuck Schumer of NY will be the majority leader”.
A similar dynamic was at play in the Jacksonville-area 4th District, being vacated by Crenshaw, where former county sheriff John Rutherford beat Hans Tanzler III, an attorney, and Lake Ray, a state lawmaker, who had both sought to portray Rutherford as insufficiently conservative for the safely Republican seat. Everything that just happened for Rubio was, to some degree or another, expected from the moment he (re) entered the race. Rubio’s decision to do an about-face and run for reelection immediately cleared out most of that lackluster field.
Rubio has half-heartedly endorsed Trump since their bruising presidential battles.
But in June, Rubio announced he had changed his mind citing concerns that without him in the race, Democrats’ chances of winning the majority would increase.
“Rubio was a game changer when he got back into the race”, veteran Republican strategist Mac Stipanovich said.
Rubio has the advantage of already having won a statewide election in a state with more than 12 million voters. The former head of the Democratic National Committee, who was ousted following the release of hacked emails showing she strongly supported Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, working to undermine Sen.
So much for voter discontent with the “establishment” wing of the Republican Party.
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But Libertarian Paul Stanton, who defeated Augustus Invictus in that party’s primary on Tuesday, will be one of five other candidates on the ballot in November offering a choice beside Rubio or Murphy.
