In a rare move, the interim executive director of the Florida Republican party said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) should not run for president.
Party chairs and executive directors generally stay out of interparty fighting or try to avoid it, but interim executive director David Johnson, an ally of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) told The New York Times, “I hope that is not going to happen…It’s going to cause a lot of problems in the state of Florida.”
Johnson’s comments came in a story about efforts by Bush’s political operation (and likely presidential campaign) to quash Rubio’s chances of setting up a foothold for running for president in Florida.
Rubio has strongly indicated plans for running for president, including hiring some staff that would serve on a campaign. He has also said if he does run for president in 2016 he won’t run to defend his senate seat.
Democrats are hopeful a presidential run will create a Senate pickup opportunity. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL) announced Monday that he’s running for Senate.
