When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” – John 11:43-44
Maybe that is a bit dramatic, but after getting crushed in Florida by Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican primary, Rubio’s political future looked to be flatlined. He decided not to run for reelection only to reconsider. He then was involved in what was thought to be a dogfight against Rep. Patrick Murphy. But Little Marco turned it around.
In fact, he did much better than Trump did in Florida on Election night. Per Politico:
In terms of his 714,000, 7.7 percentage-point margin in the general election, Rubio won more than 6 times that of Trump in Florida. The billionaire businessman beat the former secretary of state by about 114,000 votes, or 1.2 percentage points. Rubio garnered almost 52 percent of the vote in the U.S. Senate race, while Trump earned a little more than 49 percent in the presidential race. In all, Rubio received almost 218,000 more votes than Trump
A closer look at the numbers showed why many thought Rubio had a real chance in the General Election. He won 48% of Hispanic and 17% of African-American voters based on exit polls.
“Marco Rubio is back,” Krishnaiyer said. “And he’s a threat again.” Krishnaiyer is a liberal blogger and former spokesman for the luncatic former Rep. Allen Grayson. (Side note, during my Democrat days I lived in Florida and could never vote for Grayson. What a jerk!)
He seems to be highly thought of by colleagues. Republican Senator from Tennessee Bob Corker said that Marco is “a very valuable member of the Senate and “he demonstrates a deep understanding of foreign policy.” Rubio serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.
His conservative credentials are certainly there. From the National Review:
This is a man who has a lifetime ACU rating of 98 out of 100. A man who has a perfect rating from the NRA in the U.S. Senate. A man who earned scores of 100 in 2014, 100 in 2013, 71 in 2012, and 100 in 2011 from the Family Research Council. A “Taxpayer Super Hero” with a lifetime rating of 95 from Citizens Against Government Waste. A man Club for Growth president David McIntosh called “a complete pro-growth, free-market, limited-government conservative.
During the Primary, he had high favorable ratings. But he could never really get higher than 20% of the overall vote winning only Minnesota and Puerto Rico. His stance on immigration, and his work with the “Gang of Eight”, probably cost him any real traction or backing.
So where does that leave Rubio? I doubt he’ll challenge a sitting President in 2020. You would have to think he will try his luck in 2024, when he’s 53 years old. But who knows how sullied the Republican brand would be after a potential eight years of Trump.
Eight years is a lifetime in Politics..
New Light Federalist 