Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., became the latest elected official to back Marco Rubio on Sunday.
“I am convinced he would be a strong and effective president of the United States,” said Alexander, a former education secretary, Tennessee governor and repeat presidential candidate.
“I have watched Marco up close. I have seen him take the lead in passing new laws to impose tough new sanctions on Hezbollah terrorists, and to get rid of incompetent managers who weren’t doing their jobs to help veterans,” Alexander said in a statement. “He has proposed good new ideas for giving students more options for college.”
Alexander’s listing of Rubio’s accomplishments is notable. Rubio backers have sometimes struggled to list the freshman senator’s tangible achievements. Rubio has all but disavowed his most notable achievement, helping author a comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate passed in 2013.
Alexander, chairman of the influential Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is an ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Alexander’s announcement is a sign that McConnell and other GOP leaders are eager to rally the party behind Rubio in a bid to stop Donald Trump from capturing the Republican nomination.
Alexander ran for president in 1996 and 2000, famously donning plaid shirts to advertise himself as a regular Tennessee farmer.
