Pataki endorses Rubio for president

by Ben Kamisar - 01/26/16 9:42 AM ET

Former New York Gov. George Pataki on Tuesday endorsed Marco Rubio for president, just weeks after ending his own presidential campaign.

“We need someone who is going to bring Americans together,” Pataki said of Rubio.

{mosads}”Sen. Rubio has the leadership, he has the vision, he has the intelligence from Congress to understand what it takes to defend us from radical Islam,” Pataki said Tuesday on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom.”

“I am proud to endorse Sen. Rubio.”

Pataki framed Rubio as the only candidate who can bring America together, bashing front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as dividers and pledging to do “everything” he can to help Rubio win.

Rubio has bet his White House hopes on a slow strategy that doesn’t include wins in either of the first two nominating states, Iowa and New Hampshire. While some consider that path risky, as it misses out on the momentum boost of winning those contests, Pataki on Tuesday echoed the Rubio camp’s assertion that the Florida senator is running a “national campaign” with the “staying power” to win the White House.

“This is a national race — it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” he said.

“I think he will do fine in Iowa. I don’t think he’s going to win in Iowa. I think he will do well in New Hampshire, and I think he will do extremely well as the race moves on.”

Pataki dropped out of the race at the close of 2015, unable to gain traction.

A constant fixture in the undercard debates, he never polled higher than 1 percent in any poll since June 2015 and only registered 1 percent in one of the final 12 polls of the year.

He’s the third former GOP White House hopeful to endorse this cycle — Rick Perry backed Ted Cruz on Monday, and Lindsey Graham endorsed Jeb Bush earlier this month.

This report was updated at 10:02 a.m.

Tags George Pataki Marco Rubio