Rubio to Decide on Presidential Run in 2014

On Tuesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said he would make a decision about whether to run for president in 2014.

According to USA Today, Rubio told the American Society of News Editors conference in Washington that he will make his decision “based on a lot of different factors” in late 2014.

“I know you’re not going to believe me when I tell you this, I really don’t think about that right now,” Rubio said. “Anytime you start thinking about what you’re going to run for next, it begins to influence how you behave, the decisions you make, the issues you take on, the stances that you adopt.”

Rubio’s support of the Senate’s immigration bill has seen his poll numbers, especially among Republicans, plummet across the board. His favorability rating among Republicans is down 15 point since February and his embrace of the immigration bill has not even won him the support of moderates, with only 39% of “ideological moderates” viewing him favorably. 

The Washington Examiner’s Byron York, who previously reported that many Republicans in Iowa now see Rubio as the “amnesty candidate,” has compared him to Mitt Romney after Rubio flip-flopped on immigration. And former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told Breitbart News on Tuesday evening that Rubio, along with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) should be primaried because of his flip-flop on immigration and border security. 

Rubio’s staff did not help matters by committing unforced errors, disparaging Americans workers “across every sector” that “can’t cut it” to  a reporter from the liberal New Yorker magazine, no less. All this suggests should Rubio decide to run for president, he may have considerable trouble winning over the conservative base.