An online ad released Friday by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee previews the sort of campaign Rubio can expect to endure should he decide to reverse the decision, made when he entered the presidential race last year, to forego re-election to run for president.
The ad highlights the scores of votes and committee hearings Rubio missed while pursuing the presidency, the repeated pledges he made during that campaign not to return to the Senate and his vote in December against a Democratic proposal to bar suspected terrorists from purchasing guns…
Murphy has already raised more than $7 million for the race; Rubio’s presidential campaign account had more than $3 million when he withdrew but also $2 million in unpaid loans. There are competitive Aug. 30 primaries on both sides: Murphy faces Rep. Alan Grayson, while Rubio, were he to run, could face at least two well-funded opponents.
The most recent public polling, done earlier this month by Public Policy Polling, found Rubio and Murphy statistically tied in that hypothetical race. But Rubio’s approval rating was badly underwater, with only 32 percent of voters endorsing his job performance, while Murphy remains unknown to a large chunk of Florida voters.
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