Marco Rubio won the Republican nomination for a second Senate term Tuesday night, a reversal of fortune after Florida GOP voters dealt a fatal blow to his presidential ambitions in a primary earlier this year.

With the Senate on the line, Republicans convinced the Florida lawmaker to seek re-election rather than retiring after only a single term. Rubio had planned to either be in the White House or the private sector next year. Winning his primary is the first step in extending his stay on Capitol Hill instead.