Rubio: I'm quitting politics forever... no 2nd Senate term/Governor/VP/2020

[Maxwell]

Comparing Rubio to Nixon is a huge insult to Nixon. Like him or not, Nixon was a brilliant man.

[Skye]

What a clickbait title.

[Orser67]

He's 44. He'll take off a few years, make a lot of money, and run for something in the 2020s.

[Mr. Morden]

I don't blame him.  The Senate (and congress in general) must be a frustrating place to work. 

I wonder, if Rubio fails to win the nomination will he try to run for Governor?

I was the first person to say this and atlas attacked me. Rubio was always planning on running for governor if his presidential bid did not work

People attacked you over that? I thought it was common knowledge that he will run for governor in case his POTUS run is unsuccessful. Governor sets him up nicely for a second run in the 2020s

As much as doing nothing?

It depends who Rubio loses to, primary or general, badly or respectably, on what issues. But at this point, I'd say he's likely to run again in 4 years and being elected governor in 2 years is one of the few things that could make it very hard to do that.

I would be more willing to put money on the idea that Rubio will lose the primary this year, run for Governor of Florida in 2018, win, and run for President in 2024 after two terms of Hillary.

Lose the primary to Trump?

If Trump wins the primary, and Rubio comes in 2nd or 3rd ahead of the many governors running, what the hell is his incentive to run for governor? (Unless of course, it's a big paycheck and he doesn't have to show up.)

Even if he can't make enough of a comeback to win the nomination, he might be able to make enough of a comeback to set himself up for 2020.  For Christie and a few of the other candidates, I wonder how much the 2020 race will factor into their decision on when to drop out of this race.

You also reminded me of how wrong everyone is who thinks Rubio will run for governor in 2018 if he doesn't win. It's one thing to get re-elected governor while you're running for president, another to get elected the first time.

We have to dispel with this notion that Marco Rubio is going to run for governor of Florida in 2018. I've been repeating this again and again.

What is Rubio going to say when asked during a 2018 campaign if he will launch a run for president his first year in office? Will he deny it and then reverse himself? Be non-committal? A governor running for re-election is a different case. Is there any example of someone launching a campaign for president and decamping for Iowa and New Hampshire in their 1st year as a governor? The closest examples are California governors Reagan in 1968 and Jerry Brown in 1976 but campaigns started later in those days. Even if Rubio tried a Fall entry- unlikely giving his focus on a war chest- what new experience would he be able to talk about having now? Blowing off a different job? He'll be attacked again and this time will say "We have to dispel with this notion that President Clinton doesn't know what she's doing…"

Also, what if he ran and lost?!

It makes no sense to set up a 2020 run with a 2018 gub run. It makes somewhat more sense to set up a 2024 run, except then you're taking 2020 off the table and I assume he's running in 4 years whether he wins or loses this time, unless a Republican is elected.  But also if Rubio is not the nominee, it will likely be Cruz or Trump who are not exactly evidence that what Rubio was missing was a governor stint on his resume. Even if we get President Cruz or Trump and Rubio plans to wait for 2024, I think he's more likely to try to make as much money as he can than to run for governor. If we get President Clinton or Sanders, I assume Rubio will begin his 2020 campaign before the end of November and announce a pass on a guber run pretty quickly.

What probability % would you currently give to Rubio running for president again in 2020, BMB?  I'd say it's a lot higher than many in this thread seem to be thinking.  That's partly a function of how the early stages of the invisible primary work.  Polling organizations do these absurdly early primary polls, and those with high name ID do well in them, and then that generates media buzz about them.  In the current scenario for the GOP, they will have just had a crowded primary race in which a large fraction of the potential candidates with high name ID actually decided to run, and most of them did markedly worse than Marco Rubio.  So why wouldn't he consider running again?

Let's put it this way: Let's assume Clinton wins this November, meaning that 2020 will be another open field for the GOP.  In the stupidly early 2020 GOP primary polls taken in 9 months, isn't there a pretty good chance that Rubio will at least be in the top four?

[Statilius the Epicurean]

I think Rubio is someone who likes the idea of being a politician more than actually having a career in it. Cut in line to become a Senator, cut in line to run for the Presidency, now can't be bothered going back. There's something contemptuous about him.

[Leinad]

Never been a big fan, so I wouldn't shed a tear if the click-bait-y title is true. I bet he'll be a FOX News Contributor (or maybe be some sort of "Director of Hispanic Relations" for the post-Trump RNC) for a few years and then run for President again in 2020.

"you don't have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference."

Richard Nixon after losing 1962 gubernatorial election in California.

This is exactly where my mind went when I saw the title!

[Torie]

Rubio did not use the word "forever." He did not do a Nixon ala 1962, after he lost his  CA governor's race to Pat Brown (you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore - this is my last campaign). And well, even with all of that, Nixon tacked away from that later.

[StateBoiler]

Losing by 19 points in his home state probably crushed his spirit.

Or told him he was a sitting duck in a primary.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Big kudos to Rubio from a standpoint of putting family before politics.  That's something everybody should respect and something that Adam LaRoche of the Chicago White Sox can relate to, retiring to put family before baseball.  More politicians of all stripes should follow the example of these two men.  Of course, it's a personal decision to be made between you and your family and your God, but from a standpoint of priorities, Rubio has is correct.  Bravo, Marco, Bravo.  There is a career to be had and public service is a good thing, but your first priority is to your spouse and children.  If they need you more than the public, then you should focus on the family.  It sounds like Marco just wants to be a good husband and a good father taking his family to church and working hard to provide.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Big kudos to Rubio from a standpoint of putting family before politics.  That's something everybody should respect and something that Adam LaRoche of the Chicago White Sox can relate to, retiring to put family before baseball.  More politicians of all stripes should follow the example of these two men.  Of course, it's a personal decision to be made between you and your family and your God, but from a standpoint of priorities, Rubio has is correct.  Bravo, Marco, Bravo.  There is a career to be had and public service is a good thing, but your first priority is to your spouse and children.  If they need you more than the public, then you should focus on the family.  It sounds like Marco just wants to be a good husband and a good father taking his family to church and working hard to provide.

I feel like I have to comment since Marco Rubio and the White Sox were mentioned in the same sentence. Marco's always seemed to be a family man. I bet he'll find some kind of job in south Florida, probably some posh lobbying job paid for by the taxpayer, but at least he'll be close to his family instead of in DC.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Big kudos to Rubio from a standpoint of putting family before politics.  That's something everybody should respect and something that Adam LaRoche of the Chicago White Sox can relate to, retiring to put family before baseball.  More politicians of all stripes should follow the example of these two men.  Of course, it's a personal decision to be made between you and your family and your God, but from a standpoint of priorities, Rubio has is correct.  Bravo, Marco, Bravo.  There is a career to be had and public service is a good thing, but your first priority is to your spouse and children.  If they need you more than the public, then you should focus on the family.  It sounds like Marco just wants to be a good husband and a good father taking his family to church and working hard to provide.

I feel like I have to comment since Marco Rubio and the White Sox were mentioned in the same sentence. Marco's always seemed to be a family man. I bet he'll find some kind of job in south Florida, probably some posh lobbying job paid for by the taxpayer, but at least he'll be close to his family instead of in DC.

There's no doubt he'll be well taken care of in employment.  He's a smart guy.

[Bull Moose Base]

What probability % would you currently give to Rubio running for president again in 2020, BMB?  I'd say it's a lot higher than many in this thread seem to be thinking.  That's partly a function of how the early stages of the invisible primary work.  Polling organizations do these absurdly early primary polls, and those with high name ID do well in them, and then that generates media buzz about them.  In the current scenario for the GOP, they will have just had a crowded primary race in which a large fraction of the potential candidates with high name ID actually decided to run, and most of them did markedly worse than Marco Rubio.  So why wouldn't he consider running again?

Let's put it this way: Let's assume Clinton wins this November, meaning that 2020 will be another open field for the GOP.  In the stupidly early 2020 GOP primary polls taken in 9 months, isn't there a pretty good chance that Rubio will at least be in the top four?

I think he's very likely to run in 2020. I'll say… 75%. The GOP may oust Trump or Trump may run better than expected but the most likely scenario right now is Trump is nominated, loses big to Clinton, getting destroyed among Latinos. The 2012 autopsy report didn't stop Trump from a dominant performance and nomination, but the 2016 autopsy will repeat the same conclusions. (Probably even if Cruz loses to Rubio.) I bet there will a consensus that party leaders and actors need to decide more quickly on which establishment candidate to rally behind and which to freeze out. Together with your point that Rubio will do pretty well in the 2020 polls taken the week after the 2016 election (if not during), I actually think there might be explicit calls for the GOP to rally around Rubio for 2020, possibly as early as the GOP convention this summer. His fortunes might turn before the campaign begins like they did 3 years ago when immigration reform blew up in his face, but he still ran this time. I actually think he'll use buzz about another run to jack up his income between now and then a la Hillary.

I also think Kasich might run again, depending on what happens.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Big kudos to Rubio from a standpoint of putting family before politics.  That's something everybody should respect and something that Adam LaRoche of the Chicago White Sox can relate to, retiring to put family before baseball.  More politicians of all stripes should follow the example of these two men.  Of course, it's a personal decision to be made between you and your family and your God, but from a standpoint of priorities, Rubio has is correct.  Bravo, Marco, Bravo.  There is a career to be had and public service is a good thing, but your first priority is to your spouse and children.  If they need you more than the public, then you should focus on the family.  It sounds like Marco just wants to be a good husband and a good father taking his family to church and working hard to provide.

One thing I believe happened to Rubio during this election cycle is that he learned how poor he is in comparison to other GOP contenders.  His struggles with finances (like young Dick Nixon's) were made public, and it was embarrassing to him AND his family.

Could Rubio land a top-flight legal job in a "power" firm in DC or NY?  He'd get rich and become an "insider".  At that point, he could re-enter politics at the top.  That's the only way he'll make it back; he can't even pretend to be an "outsider" anymore.
I feel like I have to comment since Marco Rubio and the White Sox were mentioned in the same sentence. Marco's always seemed to be a family man. I bet he'll find some kind of job in south Florida, probably some posh lobbying job paid for by the taxpayer, but at least he'll be close to his family instead of in DC.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

"you don't have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference."

Richard Nixon after losing 1962 gubernatorial election in California.

I thought of this as well.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Rubio will be back in the game, just you watch.

[DINGO Joe]

Are we sure Rubio knows what he's doing at this point?

[MK]

Honestly if Id were advising him Id say stump for Trump.   

[DINGO Joe]

Honestly if Id were advising him Id say stump for Trump.   

Yeah, get him and Christie matching Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum outfits.

[Santander]

Honestly if Id were advising him Id say stump for Trump.   

We've finally come to an age where even campaign surrogates are being replaced by robots.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Fuzzy Bear is right. There is no way forward for Rubio politically, except for making a second presidential bid in 2020 that will probably be as relevant as Huckabee's campaign was this time around.

He'll end up in Northern Virginia as a DC lobbyist for big sugar, because that is pretty much the only place where he isn't universally despised by the powers that be. He sure as hell won't get any major jobs in Tallahassee, but maybe someone here despises him less than the rest of the consultant class enough to bring him on as a PR stunt/public face to attract new clients.

[IceSpear]

Fuzzy Bear is right. There is no way forward for Rubio politically, except for making a second presidential bid in 2020 that will probably be as relevant as Huckabee's campaign was this time around.

He'll end up in Northern Virginia as a DC lobbyist for big sugar, because that is pretty much the only place where he isn't universally despised by the powers that be. He sure as hell won't get any major jobs in Tallahassee, but maybe someone here despises him less than the rest of the consultant class enough to bring him on as a PR stunt/public face to attract new clients.

The media will be all over a "comeback" narrative for Rubio though. Just like they were 5 times this primary.

[PresidentTRUMP]

Make MILLIONS over the next decade in the private sector and become a very wealthy man or run for governor in 2018 in hopes it leads to the presidency one day.

Hmmm if it was me the choice is obvious, spend the next decade in the private sector and become very wealthy and he can always than run for presidency again in 8 or 12 years.

[Sir Mohamed]

Probably the only thing I'm thankful to the Trumpster.

[NeverAgain]

Wow, I just saw this thread. LOL, good job Rubio.

[😥]

Rubio will change his mind until the next election. Maybe he will run for the presidency, the governors or again to the Senate