A House Republican who is running to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate predicted Wednesday that Rubio would soon reverse course and announce a last-minute run to keep his seat.
“[I think] the fix is in,” Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., told reporters Wednesday. “There has been a clearly coordinated effort by Republican leaders on the other side of the Capitol to convince Marco to stay in. It’s been very well-orchestrated for two or three weeks.”
“His vocabulary has changed,” Jolly added. “He has continued to refuse to endorse one of his best friends, who happens to be in the race. He’s now indicated he’s reconsidering it and I think ultimately he decides to get in.”
Rubio’s candidacy would give Senate Republicans their best chance to hold on the seat, and perhaps the majority, in what looks to be a difficult year for the GOP. But it leaves Jolly, not to mention the rest of the Republican field, in a bind.
“Look, I didn’t create this paradigm. Marco and Mitch McConnell created this paradigm for five candidates who have been running for nearly a year in the Republican primary,” he said. “If they are unsuccessful in getting Marco into the race, boy they have done a lot of damage to the Republican field and in many ways have made an in-kind contribution to the Senate campaign of [Democratic Rep.] Patrick Murphy, because the Republican leadership on the Senate side has indicated that if it’s not Marco, that they’re not sure they’re going to get in the race.”
Jolly has long pledged to support Rubio if he decided to stay in the race, which would leave two alternatives: he can seek re-election to the House, which requires him to run against former Gov. Charlie Crist in a district that was redrawn to favor Democrats, or he can leave Congress altogether. The filing deadline for the Florida races is June 24, but Jolly plans to announce his plans by Friday.
“My wife and I have got to make a decision independent of Marco,” he explained. “Understand the reality of the filing deadline of noon next Friday. What happens if Marco makes a decision at 11:59? I’m not going to be subjected to the whims of Marco’s decision.”
