Rubio has a few options, though they all have risks. Here are some possible approaches:

The people made me do it: Rubio could always say he decided to change his position to more accurately reflect the desires of his Florida constituency.

A released this week indicated that 58 percent of those surveyed agreed with the “path to citizenship” approach while 12 percent said people in the U.S. unlawfully should be allowed to stay, but not given citizenship. Only 24 percent were of the deport or self-deport persuasion.

Even among Florida Republicans, nearly half, 47 percent, supported a citizenship path with 15 percent being willing to let those here unlawfully stay but without allowing them to become citizens.

So Rubio could say he’s merely trying to more faithfully reflect the views of Floridians. Isn’t that what a lawmaker is supposed to do in a representative democracy?

The downside: This approach could open Rubio up to criticism that he’s led by the polls. And few politicians are willing to openly admit that polling impacts their policy positions.