Facing an electoral problem similar to Rand Paul’s, Sen. Marco Rubio is caught between a rock and hard place in terms of his plans for 2016 and beyond. As in Kentucky, Florida law prevents a candidate from running for two offices.
But unlike Paul, who has already sought options for circumventing the statute, Rubio is mum on what he intends to do in 2016.
Rubio called the Florida statute, which would prevent him from being on the ballot for two different offices, ” the right law” in an interview with Hugh Hewitt:
“When you choose to do something as big as that, you really gotta be focused on that and not have an exit strategy.”
But beyond that, even his closest staff have no inkling of what his plans are and have even speculated that a career outside of politics is also on the table.
That statement alone may portend at least an acquiescence to the political reality that his time in the sun has yet to come and that a bid for the White House isn’t in the cards.
With speculation that fellow Floridian Jeb Bush will likely announce for president early next year, the fight for ‘favorite son’ status in the all-important early primary state would likely be a losing battle for Rubio and could prove costly to the GOP in the November election.
At a mere 43 years of age, however, Rubio’s career is well ahead of him and options for a White House run down the road may be a better fit, especially should the Republican nominee lose the election in 2016.
