Sen. Marco Rubio boosted his conservative credentials by rolling out several congressional endorsements late Wednesday and Thursday, including from Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.).
Salmon, the co-founder of the Freedom Caucus, was one of six House members to announce their support of Rubio as the senator looks to consolidate GOP members to his campaign.
Also endorsing Rubio were Reps. Lynn Westmoreland, Glenn Thompson, Robert Pittenger, Steve Womack and Rick Crawford. Sen. Pat Toomey endorsed Rubio Wednesday afternoon.
Salmon, seen in many circles as one of the most conservative members of the House, declined to launch a primary bid against Sen. John McCain, who’s looking to win his sixth term back to the U.S. Senate.
The rush of endorsements came just as Rubio is looking to expand on his solid third place finish in Iowa, where he got 23 percent of the vote, and do well in New Hampshire in the Tuesday primary. According to a new 7Mass/UMass Lowell poll of the Granite State, Rubio has shot back up to second place with 15 percent, behind only Donald Trump’s 36 percent.
Overall, Rubio sits in second in New Hampshire behind Trump and slightly ahead of Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 11 percent support, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
