Mitt Romney offered a hand to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday, making an appeal to donors in a phone call to get behind the incumbent’s re-election campaign.
Speaking with about 20 donors, Romney warned of a “big turnout effort” by both Democrats and Republicans in the presidential race in Florida, and regardless of the outcome, Rubio would help Republicans maintain their Senate majority and would provide a “voice of reason.”
“The unfortunate truth about this election is that nobody’s really happy — I shouldn’t say nobody — most Americans are not really happy with either outcome, either the Republican or Democrat outcome. But right now, Hillary’s in the lead,” Romney said in audio first obtained by CNN.
“And if she were to win by too large a margin it would be very, very hard for us to be able to maintain the principles to keep America the nation that it is,” he continued. “It’s important that regardless of what happens on the presidential level, that we have Sen. Rubio able to be successful and win in Florida so we can maintain our majority in the Senate.”
The 2012 nominee said that Rubio is “the real deal.” Romney added that while campaigning with Rubio in 2012, he learned that Rubio is just as “impressive” a person in public as he is in private.
Romney had spoken out in support of Rubio’s candidacy for the White House before ending his bid earlier this year after losing his state’s primary to Donald Trump. Though Rubio has since offered his support to Trump, now the GOP nominee, Romney has remained critical of the billionaire businessman.
Polls show Rubio leading his likely Democratic rival, Rep. Patrick Murphy, by more than 5 percent, according to a RealClearPolitics average.
