Advisers close to Marco Rubio (R-FL) have indicated the Senator has declared his intention to run for president in 2016 and will make it official this evening with a speech from Miami. At first, it seemed Rubio would declare his candidacy this evening but now it appears he’s leaked his intentions early with the desire to build up an audience for his evening event.
Report from CNN:
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he is running for president and is “uniquely qualified” to talk about the future, a Rubio adviser tells CNN.
The adviser said Rubio did a call with donors Monday morning where he said he was running. Rubio is scheduled to publicly announce his bid later tonight to offer a pitch supporters say only he is qualified to give: a promise to restore the American Dream, from a son of Cuban exiles who’s lived it.
Rubio has all the makings of a winning presidential candidate: Youth, a compelling personal narrative and deep roots in a crucial swing state. But as he unveils his presidential campaign, he’s missing one thing: Support.
Rubio consistently polls in the middle of the GOP primary pack, trailing fellow Floridian Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and even more conservative alternatives like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
As noted, the speech will be delivered this evening, sometime after 6pm ET from the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami. We’ll have the complete announcement video afterwards.
The Miami Herald is following Rubio’s events for the day and will carry the speech live available here for streaming.
Update
Full video of Rubio’s speech is available here.
