A.G. Gancarski
Referring to Mayor Lenny Curry, who entered the restaurant with him for his Monday Jacksonville event, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said Curry was a “great friend and great mayor” and a “real conservative” who rose to “challenges after four years of failed leadership.”
“We can do that for America,” Rubio told the crowd.
However, if it turns out that Rubio isn’t the GOP nominee, a reasonable bet at this point, Curry and other local Republican supporters will fall in behind the Republican nominee.
Even if it’s Trump.
Curry told FloridaPolitics.com that he was “standing with Marco … as a candidate in a competitive race” and that “Marco Rubio will finish the race strong.”
However, Curry “will be a part of unifying the party in the weeks ahead. We’ve got to be unified. It’s not good for our cause to be divided,” and to that end, Curry will work to coalesce and unify.
Curry was one of many Rubio supporters and endorsers on hand with ties to local government. Councilman Scott Wilson said he’ll “most likely” back any GOP nominee.
Meanwhile, Duval GOP Vice Chairwoman Karyn Morton was very direct, saying that while people have the right to support whomever they want during the fractious primary season, it’s a different story “once the primary’s done.”
Curry, who did a TV ad for Rubio and robocalls, has lent a lot of his political capital to the presidential campaign of a friend.
However, Curry ultimately is a realist, and if Donald Trump gets the nod, expect Curry to do what GOP mayors have done for GOP candidates in Jacksonville for the last couple of decades: Do whatever it takes for a Republican to win.
That’s especially salient, given that later Monday, Alvin Brown introduces Bill Clinton at an event across town.
