Florida Sen. [crscore]Marco Rubio[/crscore] has said he is not running for re-election to the U.S. Senate, saying he will be a “private citizen” come January.
But Rubio — who decided to run for president instead of another term in the Senate the year — is being encouraged by his fellow Republican senators to reconsider his decision now that he has dropped out of the presidential race.
“Marco Rubio is a very valuable member of the Senate – especially in his role on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he demonstrates a deep understanding of foreign policy – and earlier this afternoon, I strongly encouraged him to reconsider his decision and seek re-election,” Tennessee Sen. [crscore]Bob Corker[/crscore] said in a statement Thursday.
The filing deadline to run for the Senate in Florida is June 24.
A slew of Republicans are already running, including Rep. [crscore]David Jolly[/crscore], Rep. [crscore]Ron DeSantis[/crscore], Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and businessmen Carlos Beruff and Todd Wilcox.
Rubio has not indicated that he’s willing to change his mind on running. But that’s not stopping other senators from offering encouragement.
“It’s obviously a very personal decision, but I think it be good for the party, it would be good for the Senate — I’d like to see him do it,” Sen. [crscore]John Cornyn[/crscore] told CNN. “I hear a lot of buzz around here from members and others; that’s a conversation we need to have.”