Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) won an informal straw poll of five potential Republican presidential candidates conducted at a Koch brothers’ conference of conservative donors in California.
According to Politico, Rubio came in first ahead of the four other would-be candidates, in the poll, which was conducted by GOP pollster Frank Luntz. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) came in last. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was also an option in the poll. It’s not clear from the Politico report which other two candidates were included.
Winning the support of the Koch network’s deep-pocketed donors would be a boon for Rubio, who is currently deciding whether to run for president or re-election.
Earlier in the week, the Kochs indicated to donors that they planned to spend almost $1 billion in the 2016 campaign cycle through their network of 17 conservative organizations.