Watch CBS News

Rubio Re-Election Talk Grows (And He Seems Okay With It)

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Marco Rubio professed he enjoys being in the Senate "very much" and opened the door to running for re-election if his "very close friend" Carlos Lopez-Cantera dropped out of the race.

"First of all I never hated being in the Senate," Rubio said during an interview for this Sunday's edition of Facing South Florida with Jim DeFede. "It really bothered me when I read that article because it isn't true. I didn't run for President because I hated the Senate. I ran because I thought and believed and still do I guess that I could have made a bigger difference as President."

"I didn't think it was fair for me to freeze the Senate field while I was out there running for President because Florida is a competitive state," he continued. "And in that process a very close friend of mine, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, the Lieutenant Governor, chose to run for the U.S. Senate. And so you know I think he is a good candidate and I think he could be a great Senator."

Nevertheless, now that Rubio's presidential race is over, Republican leaders in Washington want him to run for re-election. The filing deadline is June 24th.

Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas told CNN he hoped Rubio would jump into the race.

"It would be good for the party, it would be good for the Senate -- I'd like to see him do it," Cornyn said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently told a gathering of Republican Senators that he was concerned the field of Republicans running in Florida would not win, according to CNN. McConnell then asked the gathering if they would support Rubio if he were to get run again, and they all agreed.

Even Donald Trump took to Twitter Thursday night, writing: "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!"

The other Republican candidates include Congressmen David Jolly and Ron DeSantis, former CIA officer Todd Wilcox and businessman Carlos Beruff. None of them have emerged as a leader in the race.

(Late Friday Congressman Jolly said if Rubio did get into the race, he would end his campaign. "I would withdraw from the Senate race and support Rubio for re-election," Jolly said in a text message to the Tampa Bay Times.)

Rubio has only fueled the speculation in a variety of interviews.

"I want people to understand it's not that I'm leaving the Senate because I hate it or dislike the job," he told CBS4 News. "I enjoy it very much. I chose to run for President because I thought I could serve better there. In the interim a very close friend got in the race and is running and I think he is going to do very well."

The implication, however, is that if Carlos Lopez-Cantera were not in the race he might reconsider running.

This is different than what Rubio said back in March when he was asked if he might run for re-election.

"No, no, I'm not running for re-election to the Senate," he said at the time. "I'm going to finish my term here and then I'll be a private citizen."

If Lopez-Cantera decided he was behind and could not win and dropped out, would Rubio run?

"And that's why I don't do hypotheticals," Rubio said. "I don't know. The answer is, I don't know. But it is not something that is going to happen, so I'm not worried about hypotheticals. I'm prepared to finish out my term in the Senate working really hard and then I'm prepared after that to become a private citizen and contribute in different ways. And that's where my mindset is and that hasn't changed."

Rubio, however, could shut down all of this speculation by simply saying he will not run for re-election under any circumstance. Since he doesn't, is he afraid that his comments might result in pressure being placed on Lopez-Cantera to drop out?

"No," Rubio said. "And I don't think he should get out of the race."

Why not endorse him now?

"I think everybody knows how I feel about Carlos, and I think everybody knows our relationship, and I've repeated this extensively. At the right time when we finish our work in DC and we're ready to focus on the campaign, we'll announce something that gets even more attention."

Whether he is ultimately a candidate again or not, Rubio enjoyed taking a shot at the two leading Democrats in the Senate race – Congressman Alan Grayson and Patrick Murphy.

"Alan Grayson is a lunatic. He's just a wild man and he's just crazy," Rubio said. "And then Patrick Murphy as you've seen over the last week is someone that embellishes his record, has lived a pretty privileged lifestyle. He's basically had his family go out and find jobs for him and now of course they want to buy him a U.S. Senate seat. He's really one of the most ineffective members of the Congress and so he would be a terrible Senator."

Watch the full interview Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on Facing South Florida on CBS4.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.