Rubio to hold fundraiser for Republican hoping to succeed him

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will headline a fundraiser for Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera (R), further tamping down speculation that the Florida senator will run again for his seat.

Rubio will attend a fundraiser on June 24 in Coral Gables, Florida for Lopez-Cantera, who’s running for Rubio’s seat in the GOP primary, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

{mosads}The fundraiser is the same date as the filing deadline for the open Senate seat.

Rubio has been under mounting pressure to file for reelection. His seat is a top swing-seat that could be pivotal in which party captures a majority in the Senate. But Rubio has repeatedly brushed off the rumors and has called Lopez-Cantera a “close friend.”

If Rubio did decide to run again, he wouldn’t be a shoo-in for his own seat.

A new poll from left-leaning Public Policy Polling released earlier on Tuesday found Rubio trailing Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), the leading Democratic primary candidate, by 1 point. It also found he had a negative job approval rating among Florida voters.

But another poll released this week found that nearly 49 percent of Florida voters want him to run for reelection, while 39 percent do not.

The GOP field for Rubio’s seat currently includes Lopez-Cantera, Reps. David Jolly (R-Fla.) and Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and businessmen Todd Wilcox and Carlos Beruff.

Meanwhile, Democrats face their own fierce primary battle where Murphy will square off again liberal firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.).

The primaries will be held on Aug. 30.