Rubio Leaves Door Open for Presidential Run, 'Someone Is Going to Run'

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said Monday he has presidential ambitions in the near future amid unpredictable variables.

“It’s possible that at some point in the future, down the road, two, four, six, eight, 10 [years], I don’t know when, that I will find myself in a position and want to pursue it, because I’ve done it in the past,” Rubio told Punchbowl News.

Rubio explained the future is unpredictable. “But I can’t tell you that today because I can’t tell you what my life looks like, what the country looks like, the party looks like.”

The Florida senator answered indirectly when asked about the political ambitions of fellow Floridians Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

“First of all, if we’ve learned nothing over the last two years, it’s that the future is unpredictable; it takes all kinds of twists and turns,” he said. “I certainly learned that myself living life. You can sort of be prepared for the future, but you can’t necessarily plan for it because you just don’t know what’s going to happen in my life or anybody else’s life.”

“Someone is going to run,” Rubio said in reflection. “I’m not in some hard red state where you’re not going to get challenged by a serious opponent. But in the end, I don’t think there’s been a member of Congress over the last four to six years who’s been more effective than we have.”

Rubio was rated by GovTrack, a nonpartisan ranking service, as the number two top leader in the Senate compared to all other senators on its “unique leadership analysis looks at who is cosponsoring whose bills”–and the highest among Republicans–which Rubio will presumably tout in his 2022 Senate reelection bid. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) is considering a senate or gubernatorial campaign against either Rubio or DeSantis.

Rick Scott, Rubio’s fellow Florida Senator who is also serving as the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, has said of Rubio, “I think Marco has done a really good job as a U.S. senator, and he’s going to do a really good job on his reelection.”

Current Republican Conference Chair Sen. John Barrasso  (R-WY) has also complimented Rubio on his success, saying he “is very thoughtful, very talented, I think he’d make a great president.”

“The path that he’s on in the Senate is a national leadership position as an individual with very good ideas for the country,” Barrasso added.

This article has been updated.