Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Wednesday said that if he decides to run for President in 2016, he will not seek re-election as a senator at the same time.
“I’ll either have to run for re-election or not run for anything or run for another office,” Rubio told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt when asked about his comment Tuesday that he would decide on 2016 “around this time next year.”
Hewitt then asked Rubio if Florida law allowed people to run for President and Senate simultaneously.
“No, you can’t be on the ballot for two different offices, so — and I think that’s the right law,” Rubio responded.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), another 2016 hopeful, has pushed for the Kentucky legislature to allow him to run for re-election and for the presidency at the same time. The state senate passed legislation that would let him run for both offices at the same time in March.
Hewitt also asked Rubio whether he would backtrack and run for re-election in the Senate if he ran for President and lost the Republican nomination.
“I haven’t even thought that far ahead,” Rubio said. “I think by and large when you choose to do something as big as that, you really gotta be focused on that and not have an exit strategy.”
