Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday signaled that he is more likely to run for president in 2016 if Democrats maintain control of the Senate in the November elections.
The Florida Republican has been laying the groundwork for a presidential bid but has left open the possibility that he might yet choose to run for re-election to the Senate. In an interview with Bob Schieffer on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” Rubio, 43, said his decision would boil down to concluding where he can be most affective as a policymaker.
A Senate controlled by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Rubio said, would not be a hospitable place for him to push the sort of conservative government reforms he favors.
“For me it’s not going to be about the position, it’s going to be about: Where I can best advocate for a 21st-century reform agenda that allows us to usher in another American century. The decision I have to make is, can I best do that as a senator, or can I best do that by running and hopefully winning the presidency? That’s a question I’ll have more clarity on after this midterm. Because I can promise you this: The one place where I will not be able to do that from is a Senate that is still run by Harry Reid that allows no votes on anything of substance or importance.”
The Republicans need to flip six Democrat-held seats to win control of the Senate on Nov. 4.
