Senate or White House?
For Marco Rubio, this weekend’s gathering of staunch supporters and campaign contributors would appear an ideal setting for the Republican senator from Florida to tip his hand on 2016.
Rubio political advisers say no announcement is planned for the two-day donor retreat that kicks off Friday in Miami at the Delano Hotel, the fourth annual such event organized by the senator’s political team. But Rubio has said in multiple interviews that he’s nearing a decision, and Republican operatives headed to South Beach for the festivities say they’ll be looking for smoke signals.
Republican insiders who have attended previous retreats say clues could emerge from a scheduled Saturday morning political briefing put on by Terry Sullivan, director of Rubio’s Reclaim America political action committee. Fueling speculation that hints could drop, this year’s retreat has added two events for Saturday afternoon and evening not on past itineraries: more intimate lunch and dinner gatherings with Rubio for committed donors and bundlers.
“We use our annual Team Marco donor retreat to update some of our key supporters on our progress,” Sullivan told the Washington Examiner on Thursday. “This year we’ll spend time discussing Marco and Reclaim America’s success in helping elect three new U.S. senators. We’ll also spend time talking with our supporters about we have planned for the year ahead.”
The very next day, Rubio jets to Palm Springs, Calif., for a conference sponsored by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch that is bringing together wealthy conservative donors and a handful of potential Republican presidential candidates.
“I’m down to the last decision and fundamental one: At this stage in my life, at this stage in my career, what is the best place to serve my country?” Rubio said Wednesday during a breakfast with reporters in Washington sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
In fact, the Washington Examiner has confirmed with a Rubio aide that the senator has asked his political team to plan for a presidential bid.
His PAC has hired fundraiser Anna Rogers away from American Crossroads, the premier GOP super PAC. She would serve as finance director of Rubio’s presidential bid. Rubio plans to skip Senate votes next week to embark on a fundraising swing that will take him to Southern California, Texas and Chicago. His travel to early presidential primary states also is accelerating. The senator’s latest moves were first reported by ABC News.
The invitation to Rubio’s donor retreat is simple enough. “Please Join U.S. Senator Marco Rubio And Team Marco Leadership For His Fourth Annual Miami Retreat.” The event is typical of most congressional leadership PACs. But Rubio’s aspirations for higher office and accelerated jockeying by other potential 2016’ers adds intrigue to the fourth installment of his retreat, a production of Rubio Victory Committee, a joint fundraising committee of Reclaim America and his Senate campaign committee.
The event brings together around 50 or so Rubio supporters, some based in Florida and others from Washington. Included are lobbyists and veteran political operatives influential in GOP circles — some with close ties to Rubio that go back several years. Among the retreat’s primary goals: raising money for his political organization, among the most ready-to-launch teams of any potential presidential candidate.
Jeb Bush’s entry into the presidential sweepstakes has complicated Rubio’s political calculations.
The former two-term Florida governor probably has first call on deep-pocketed GOP donors in the Sunshine State and could be favored to win Florida’s nearly 100 nominating delegates in the state’s 2016 presidential primary. Bush also is poised to snap up the support of experienced Republican operatives who are impressed with Rubio’s potential strength as a candidate and might have gravitated toward him.
Many who have supported Rubio’s rapid political ascendance are Bush backers, including some who hail from the governor’s in-state political network. Some from this group are expected to attend Rubio’s Friday-Saturday retreat. Their presence is one factor that could cause Rubio’s political team to temper talk of a presidential bid and keep any plans in the works private, sources said.
Meanwhile, Rubio has emphasized repeatedly that Bush’s announcement that he is considering a 2016 bid wouldn’t impact his decision. Rubio wasn’t scared off in 2010 when most political observers gave him little chance to win a GOP Senate primary against then-popular Gov. Charlie Crist, who is now a Democrat. So history, at least, lends credence to Rubio’s pronouncements.
