Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Thursday he is “very supportive” of Sen. Marco Rubio’s re-election campaign.
“I am very supportive of Marco’s running and I’m glad he did it,” Sessions said of the Florida Republican’s last-minute decision to jump into the race for his current seat.
Sessions is the leading immigration hawk in Congress, so his backing could help Rubio shore up support among GOP primary voters skeptical of Rubio’s work to draft the Gang of Eight immigration bill. Sessions was also the first senator to endorse Donald Trump’s campaign in the GOP presidential primaries, so his comments might help Rubio rally the Trump supporters who voted against their senator in the Florida presidential primary.
“I think he’ll be a strong candidate, he’s a talented guy with a lot of energy, and so I was pleased to congratulate him [on running],” Sessions told the Washington Examiner on Thursday. “I think he will do very well in the primary and in the general election.”
That praise comes on the same day that Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is regarded as something of a Trump ally, declined to endorse Rubio against Carlos Beruff, the only would-be successor to Rubio who has refused to defer to the incumbent senator’s re-entry.
“Carlos Beruff is a good friend of mine, a businessman and an outsider to politics,” Scott wrote in a Facebook post. “The voters of Florida deserve the opportunity to consider his candidacy alongside Senator Rubio and make their own decision. The opinions of the political class in Washington are not relevant to the voters of Florida. Florida Republicans will pick the nominee on their own.”
Trump encouraged Rubio to run for re-election last month, alongside Senate Republican leaders who regard him as the best chance for the GOP to hold the seat this fall. But Rubio distanced himself from the presumptive GOP nominee when he announced his candidacy.
“It is no secret that I have significant disagreements with Donald Trump,” Rubio said. “His positions on many key issues are still unknown. And some of his statements, especially about women and minorities, I find not just offensive but unacceptable. If he is elected, we will need senators willing to encourage him in the right direction, and if necessary, stand up to him. I’ve proven a willingness to do both.”
