Senator Marco Rubio’s days in the U.S. Senate are numbered. The question is, will the junior senator from Florida run for a third term in 2022 and then run for president in 2024?
In an interview with the Washington Post’s Bob Acosta, Rubio was asked about his future in politics. Rubio’s answer was a little bit different than what he has told reporters in the past, who’ve asked him numerous times about his future political plans.
Rubio’s “I hope to have the opportunity to continue doing it (public service) in some form or fashion down the road” remark appears to have left the door open for either another run for Senate or a more probable run for President.
“I enjoy very much being in public office because I wake up every morning, I can see something in the world that I think needs to be addressed, and I’m in a place where I can actually try to do something about it. I’ve enjoyed doing that a lot, and I hope to have the opportunity to continue doing it in some form or fashion down the road.”
Rubio has told close friends and supporters that running for president is not off the table looking down the road, but that running for re-election to the Senate would be a little bit of a stretch.
Rubio is now the acting-Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and continues to be the go-to guy in the Senate when it comes to anything Hispanic, or on issues that involve the Western Hemisphere.
In other words, Rubio is in the driver’s seat and commands significant political capital on the hill.
The 2016 Close Call
Things have changed for Rubio since Trump was elected president, but when Rubio first arrived in Washington he tried to work with the Obama administration, which any Republican in Congress will tell you was like swimming upstream.
Rubio couldn’t get much done and began to express his frustrations, frustrations that lead some people in the know to believe that he would only serve one term in office.
His 2016 presidential run qualified all of the rumors that Rubio was not happy in the U.S. Senate, and that running for president was a perfect political move out of the Senate for him. Rubio ran and lost and had no illusions or desire to go back to the Senate. And then Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called.
McConnell convinced Rubio to run for re-election in order to save the GOP majority in the Senate. Rubio decided to seek office and cleared the Republican senatorial primary race.
Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who Rubio was introducing as his successor, dropped out.
When then-Rep. Ron DeSantis dropped out, the matchup between Rubio and Democratic Senate nominee and Rep. Patrick Murphy was set.
Rubio cruised to victory over Murphy, as Republicans and Independents came out in droves to vote for then-Republican nominee Donald J. Trump. Trump and Rubio helped each other get elected.
What if
What if Trump wins re-election? What does Rubio do then?
Considering his current position within the GOP-controlled Senate, Rubio could very well run for re-election and use that bully pulpit to fuel a 2024 presidential run.
Or
Rubio serves out his term and goes off and becomes a TV pundit, writes another book, coaches high school football, and goes on the speaking circuit before he runs for president.
Or
Rubio scraps it all and runs for governor of Florida (not likely)
