MIAMI (AP) – Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was among the Republican Party’s biggest stars when he burst onto the national stage in the tea party wave of 2010. Now, he is facing a home-state showing on Tuesday that could devastate his 2016 presidential campaign and damage his political brand for years to come.
His desire to become the nation’s first Hispanic president, and his past support for a forgiving immigration policy, have failed to excite conservative primary voters who instead have flocked to Donald Trump’s nativist politics.
“Marco’s always had good timing. This time, the timing just wasn’t there,” said Albert Lorenzo, who managed Rubio’s first state house campaign nearly two decades ago and stays in close contact with him.
Yet Lorenzo, like those closest to Rubio, suggest that should his bid end in disappointment, the senator’s career in public service is far from over. The 44-year-old Republican could run for Florida governor in two years, president in four years or even his own Senate seat later this year.
“He’s a talent you don’t find,” Lorenzo said.