Rubio demurs on 2020 questions

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday said he’s prepared for senator to be the last political job he holds, but stopped short of closing the door on a presidential run in 2020.

{mosads}”If my plan was to run for president in 2020, jumping into a race like this with all the political risks associated with it would not be the decision one would make,” Rubio told CNN, referring to his decision to seek reelection to the Senate.

“I’m fully prepared to have the U.S. Senate be the last political job I ever have, and I just want to be the best senator I possibly can be for the people of Florida.” 

Asked by a reporter whether that means Rubio is “closing the door on 2020,” the senator demurred. 

“All I’m telling you is if I were running for president in 2020, running — jumping into this race is probably not the decision most people would advise.”

Rubio’s comments follow a major reversal Wednesday morning, when he announced he would for for reelection to the Senate after months of saying he would retire.

Rubio had been rumored in recent weeks to be reconsidering and had been urged by top Senate Republicans — led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — to run for a seat that could be pivotal to determining the majority in the Senate.

Rubio started to publicly reconsider his decision to leave the Senate following the recent mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

Rubio told CNN Wednesday he changed his mind because he’s not “perfect.” 

“Look, this was not a decision I thought I was going to make. I was ready to move forward. When I was telling people up until 10 days ago it was the truth.” 

Rubio said in a statement earlier Wednesday he decided to seek reelection to help the Republicans keep control of the Senate come November. 

“I think that the point that really drove me to change my mind is, that as we enter this kind of new chapter in our history here, is there’s another role the Senate plays that I think can be really important in the years to come,” Rubio said. 

“And that’s the power given to it in the Constitution to act as a check and balance on the excess of the president. It’s even more important given the fact that control of the Senate could very well come down to what happens in the Florida race,” he said.