Sen. Marco Rubio's campaign said Wednesday that he would not attend the Republican National Convention later this month in Cleveland, citing the need to focus on his re-election campaign in Florida.
"Florida has always been a competitive state and it will be this fall," the campaign told
The Tampa Bay Times. "Marco had planned to go to the convention before he decided to seek re-election.
"Since Marco got into the race late, he will be in Florida campaigning and meeting with voters instead of going to Ohio."
The first-term senator, who decided last month that he would seek a second term,
told CNN in May that he would participate in the four-day event at the Quicken Loans Arena.
"I want to be helpful," he said in an interview. "I don't want to be harmful, because I don't want Hillary Clinton to be president."
The decision raised some eyebrows, given Rubio's battle with presumptive nominee Donald Trump during the primaries.
He later clarified that he was not sure if he would be asked to speak in Cleveland — and it would only concern issues he believes in, the Times reports.
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