Rubio keeping door open on White House bid

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he is not ruling out a White House bid in 2024 or beyond.

“It’s possible that at some point in the future, down the road, two, four, six, eight, 10 [years], I don’t know when, that I will find myself in a position and want to pursue it, because I’ve done it in the past,” Rubio told Punchbowl News. “But I can’t tell you that today because I can’t tell you what my life looks like, what the country looks like, the party looks like.”

Next year, Rubio is up for reelection to the U.S. Senate, a seat that he has held since 2011. He is likely to face a crowded field of primary challengers.

Rubio is also not the only Florida Republican who could make a presidential bid in 2024. Other prominent members of the GOP from the Sunshine State who are expected to consider runs for the White House include Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.

“First of all, if we’ve learned nothing over the last two years, it’s that the future is unpredictable, it takes all kinds of twists and turns,” Rubio said. “I certainly learned that myself living life. You can sort of be prepared for the future, but you can’t necessarily plan for it because you just don’t know what’s going to happen in my life or anybody else’s life.”

Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Punchbowl News that he thinks that Rubio has done a “good job” representing the people of Florida. 

Rubio ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2016 and lost out to front-runners former President Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). 

Cruz suggested having more than one candidate from a solidly red state during an upcoming presidential primary could be problematic for the GOP. 

“It would certainly complicate things if we have three Floridians all at the same time,” Cruz said.

Rubio said he welcomes a competitive primary challenge for his U.S. Senate seat, but would not comment on his political future beyond 2022. 

“Someone is going to run,” he said. “I’m not in some hard red state where you’re not going to get challenged by a serious opponent. But in the end, I don’t think there’s been a member of Congress over the last four to six years who’s been more effective than we have.”