Florida Republican Representative David Jolly has dropped out the race to replace Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate, freeing up more space for Rubio to change his mind about running again for his Senate seat.
Jolly announced that he would drop out of his Senate race to run for re-election to his Congressional seat. The news is significant as Jolly has remained a favorite in the crowded field of four other Republican candidates.
On CNN this morning, Jolly indicated that Rubio was in fact running for re-election before clarifying via staff that he was unaware of Rubio’s decision.
After announcing his candidacy for president, Rubio asserted that he would resign his Senate seat for the sake of Florida voters.
But since he lost to Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary, Senate Republicans have urged him to reconsider his decision.
Even Donald Trump has urged the politician he once derided as “Little Marco” to run again.
Poll data shows that Marco Rubio does by far the best in holding onto his Senate seat in Florida,” Trump wrote on Twitter in May. “Important to keep the MAJORITY. Run Marco!”
Rubio indicated he is reconsidering his decision not to run for re-election to the Florida U.S. Senate seat.
“I’ll go home later this week, and I’ll have some time with my family, and then if there’s been a change in our status I’ll be sure to let everyone know,” Rubio told reporters earlier this week.
The field has also opened up after Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera indicated that he would abandon his Senate bid if Rubio decided to get back into the race.
Another potential rival, Rep. Ron DeSantis, has also indicated that he would not run against Rubio if he got back into the race.
Real estate developer Carlos Beruff and Orlando businessman Todd Wilcox remain in, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The filing deadline for the Florida Senate race is June 24.
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