Mitch Perry
CNN’s Manu Raju posted a piece on the cable news network’s website Tuesday regarding the question I doubt you woke up to: What’s next for Marco Rubio?
According to Raju, “In private conversations with supporters and donors over the last several weeks, the 44-year-old Rubio repeatedly gets this advice: Run again, potentially in 2020, according to several people familiar with the conversations.”
Rubio is apparently open to such advice.
Raju also reports on what should be a no-brainer: He’ll soon officially come out and endorse his pal Carlos Lopez-Cantera in the GOP senate race here in Florida, which means people in Tampa Bay who never saw him over the past five years until he needed their vote, may get a chance to say “hi” again.
Although it seems like months ago, Rubio only shut down his candidacy exactly three weeks ago Tuesday after he was humiliated by Donald Trump in the Sunshine State, getting blown out by 19 percentage points.
That was worse than Rick Scott, who always polls terribly (except on Election Days in 2010 and 2014). Scott was favored by 38 percent in the same poll.
The fact is, who knows what Rubio will do next? It’s less than a month since he dropped out of the race. If, as some suggest, he can “rebound” like Rick Perry did this year, one has to ask them what they mean by that, since Perry followed up a desultory 2012 presidential campaign performance with an equally poor run in 2015. That’s not the example you want to use about a comeback. Rubio has already dismissed a run for governor, leading some to say he might consider Attorney General in 2018.
Let’s revisit this issue in January, when we actually leaves office.
In other news …
Frank Reddick says he’d like to remain chairman of the Tampa City Council, but can live with it if nobody even nominates him this Thursday.
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Perry Harvey Sr. Park is now open, north of downtown Tampa, and every resident of the Cigar City needs to check it out.
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Environmental activist Carl Pope endorsed Alan Grayson Monday, enthusiastically.
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Tim Canova, the progressive academic who is running against DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in CD 23, has raised over half a million dollars in the first three months of fundraising.
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Speaking of DWS, an activist group called Allied Progress has now placed two billboards in her congressional district, blasting her for her stance on payday loans.
