Though Republican Sen. Marco Rubio hasn’t formally announced he’s running for president in 2016, leading pundits are speculating about his chances.
Gregory R. Valliere, chief political strategist of the research firm Potomac Research Group, recently released a handicapping of a Republican primary contest and found Rubio to be the frontrunner.
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"He flew beneath the radar screen this fall, but actually
Rubio campaigned aggressively for GOP candidates," Valliere told Business Insider. "He has a head start on putting together a campaign organization, and has shown increasing gravitas on key issues; he's the anti-Rand Paul on geopolitics."
In his
National Journal article "Why Marco Rubio Should be the GOP’s Presidential Front-Runner," Josh Kraushaar contends that Rubio would appeal to divided factions within the Republican party. He writes, "Divisions between party leaders and grassroots conservatives have been a staple of Republican politics for generations, but for the last 50 years, the GOP has always nominated someone who is acceptable to both factions. ... Rubio is one of the few candidates who would appeal to both sides."
Some political observers, like conservative columnist George Will, believe that by intensifying the visibility of someone like Rubio, Republicans will be viewed in a more favorable light by the Latino population. In an Election Day television interview after President Obama was declared the winner, Will said: “If there's a winner tonight, it's the senator from Florida, Marco Rubio, because all eyes are now going to be turned to him as a man who might have a way to broaden the demographic appeal of this party."
If Jeb Bush and Rubio were both to make a run for the White House, a majority of the Florida voters would vote for Bush,
according to a survey by the Saint Leo University Polling Institute.
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“The conventional wisdom is that there’s only room for one Florida Republican in the presidential field, Bush or Rubio — and the clear-cut winner is Jeb Bush," said Frank Orlando, Saint Leo political scientist, in a news release."As Florida’s 'favorite son,' he appears to be winning the invisible primary. Our poll results confirm beyond a doubt his dominance over Rubio and the other Republican contenders. Jeb is wildly popular among Floridians. I was surprised at his massive advantage."
Some New Hampshire Republicans describe Rubio as a relatively inexperienced leader.
"He's sort of a victim of his own success. He was considered this hotshot rising star. Then a couple of issues like immigration haven't gone very far, so some people think his stock is falling,"
Steve Duprey, the state's Republican National committeeman, told The Associated Press. "To me, he comes across as a serious and thoughtful, mainstream conservative."
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