Marco Rubio was endorsed Friday by
The Las Vegas Review-Journal in the Nevada Republican caucus on Feb. 23.
The newspaper was secretly purchased for $140 million last year by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul and chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.
News reports
later identified Adelson as the company's new owner.
Adelson, long a heavy contributor to Republican and pro-Israel causes, has not yet endorsed a candidate. He has, though, expressed interest in Rubio and donated $2,700 to Ted Cruz's campaign in November,
The Wall Street Journal reports.
"After much consideration, the Review-Journal is endorsing Sen. Marco Rubio for Nevada's first-in-the-West Republican caucus on Feb. 23," the newspaper's editorial board said.
The board met with Rubio on Oct. 9, two months before the Adelson purchase was announced.
"The Adelsons have detached themselves from our endorsement process, and our endorsement of Sen. Rubio does not represent the support of the family," the editorial said.
The newspaper cited "many" reasons for its endorsement, including the Florida senator's "deep personal connections to the state."
Rubio lived in Las Vegas between the ages of 8 and 14.
"The driving force behind the 44-year-old's compelling story is his family's pursuit of better opportunities and a better life," the editorial said. "The policies he champions in his campaign are intended to provide all Americans as much."
The editorial board added that it agreed with Rubio in that the federal government "owns too much land within Nevada's borders" and the senator's "reasonable approach to fix a broken system" of immigration in the country.
The candidates had to meet with the Review-Journal's editorial board during the endorsement process. Besides Rubio and Cruz, members met with Jeb Bush, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina.
"We made many attempts to meet with businessman and Republican front-runner Donald Trump, but he could not work an interview into his schedule," the editorial said.
Rubio was also endorsed Friday by former candidate and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who said that "Marco can unify our party."
"His optimistic message is bringing voters from across the party lines, from across different demographic groups," added Jindal, who dropped out of the race three months ago. "He can unify our party and he can win this election in November."
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