WASHINGTON (AP) – Marco Rubio will run for re-election for his Florida Senate seat, reversing his previous decision to leave Capitol Hill.Leading Republicans expect Sen. Marco Rubio to announce he is running for re-election to his Florida Senate seat.
“In politics, admitting you’ve changed your mind is not something most people like to do. But here it goes. I have decided to seek re-election to the United States Senate,” according to a press statement from Rubio.
Rubio ended his White House bid earlier this year. At the time, he was adamant that he would be a “private citizen” after his current Senate term expires. Pressure mounted within his party for Rubio to seek re-election as concerns grow that Republicans may lose the majority in the U.S. Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been the person leading efforts to persuade Rubio to stay in the Senate instead of retiring, as had been his plan.
In his statement Wednesday, Rubio sought to explain his reversed position to seek re-election to his Florida constituents, noting the people of Florida had a right to know why he changed his mind.
Rubio says a key part of his decision is “The Constitutional power to act as a check and balance on the excesses of a president.”
Taking swings at both Clinton and Trump, Rubio says both presidential candidates cause him concern. “With Hillary Clinton, we would have four more years of the same failed economic policies that have left us with a stagnant economy,” adding, “It would be a repeat of the early years of the current administration when we got Obamacare, the failed stimulus, and a record debt.”
Rubio goes on to talk about his worries of Trump as President of the United States.
“It is no secret that I have significant disagreements with Donald Trump. His positions on many key issues are still unknown. And some of his statements, especially about women and minorities, I find not just offensive but unacceptable,” the Rubio statement read.
Rubio ends his statement saying that the decision to seek re-election was one made over Father’s Day with his family in West Miami.
