Rubio opposed contested convention in 2012

Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, whose chances of winning the GOP nomination may rest on a contested convention, repeatedly said he opposed such a measure during the 2012 race, CNN is reporting.

“The primary’s over, I mean, by the admission of the candidates who have admitted they can’t win the primary,” Rubio said in an interview in 2012. “They’ve said the only way they can win is at a floor fight in Tampa. And I think that a floor fight in Tampa would be the worst possible thing we can do in terms of winning in November.”

{mosads}The Florida senator has only won one state, Minnesota, and trails Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in the delegate race. But if front-runner Trump fails to get to the minimum 1,237 delegates to win the nomination, Rubio could face a much more level playing field if it’s put to a vote by party leaders.

His campaign has been openly preparing for such a scenario. But in 2012, Rubio said that if a nominee was picked in such a fashion, it would hurt the GOP’s for a general election victory.

“I think we are at a stage now where at least two of the candidates have openly admitted that the only way they’re going to be able to win the nomination is to have a floor fight in Tampa in August,” Rubio said in a Fox News interview when Mitt Romney became the presumptive favorite to win the 2012 nomination. 

“There’s no way that anyone can convince me that having a floor fight at the convention in Tampa in August is a recipe for victory in November. On the contrary, I think it’s a recipe for disaster.”

The Rubio campaign told CNN that circumstances are different this time around, saying a contested convention could be necessary to save the party from Trump.

“In 2012, the party wasn’t considering nominating a con artist who agrees with Hillary Clinton on key issues like funding Planned Parenthood. Nominating Donald Trump would be a real disaster for the Republican Party,” campaign spokesman Alex Conant said.