The Junior Senator from Florida has entered himself into the sweepstakes:
The lives of Marco’s parents were forever changed in 1956 when they came to America from Cuba. Early on, Mario and Oria Rubio struggled being in the United States and wondered whether they had made the right decision. But in the decades that followed, America proved to be that shining city on the hill as they worked their way into the middle class and were able to provide opportunities for their children that had previously been out of reach.
Ballotpedia provides the basics, including my favorite map of position:
His only quiz surprises is that he favors stricter limits on political campaign funds, and opposes privatizing Social Security. He graduated from Miami School of Law cum laude, so he has a basic understanding of law, but his government experience is 5 years service in the State House, and Senator from Florida since 2011; at age 43, it’s a little difficult seeing him having enough experience to run a nation, although Barack Obama had a similar amount of experience at his election. On many positions I do not agree with him, so I doubt I’d vote for him; I have not heard him speak and so haven’t actually evaluated him for being a lunatic Republican or a reasonable Republican.
The New York Times gives a summation of his prospects:
Running neither as hotly conservative as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas nor as coolly establishment as Mr. Bush, Mr. Rubio could be the right contender to unite the unruly factions of his party. An often inspiring speaker, he starts with high favorability ratings in polls and performs well on the stump. He would look for a breakout performance in the debates, perhaps on foreign policy, a strong suit.
The National Review likes him:
But he has gone above and beyond that, spending the last couple of years churning out a number of innovative, conservative policy proposals on taxes, higher education, health care, and entitlements. Rubio enters the field with a comprehensive plan for individual and corporate tax reform, which he produced alongside Senator Mike Lee of Utah. The plan is not perfect, but it is an excellent starting point for how conservatives should be thinking about tax policy: It reduces distortions in the tax code, cuts rates for almost all Americans and businesses, encourages corporate investment, and provides badly needed tax relief to middle-class families.
Slate doesn’t give him much of a chance:
The Florida senator finds himself in an unusual position. Unlike Sens. Ted Cruz or Rand Paul—two factional candidates with roots in the far-right—he has a decent shot at success; he’s hired top-notch political talent and has solid support among major donors. But unlike Gov. Scott Walker or Jeb Bush, he’s no one’s first choice.
Instead, he’s everyone’s second choice, with clear advantages—strong speaking skills, a fantastic biography, an ambitious agenda, and a flair for retail politics—and real weaknesses, namely, a modest record in the Senate. He’s acceptable to almost everyone in the GOP—56 percent of Republican voters say they could vote for him—but he’s no one’s favorite: Just 5.4 percent list him as a top choice for the nomination.
I’m not sure I agree; I can think of a number of “second choicers” who have ended up winners. If two factions in party cannot tolerate the leader of the other faction, Rubio could appeal to both and sew up a nomination when no one sees it coming. I will grant that Jeb Bush, should he choose to run, has executive credentials, which generally would seem appropriate – although I have not heard of any major Obama gaffes. Perhaps, with the Republicans stubbornly contesting just about everything but the CIA nomination, he just hasn’t had the chance.
The New Yorker doesn’t like his chances:
Whatever happened to Marco Rubio? In February, 2013, his picture appeared on the cover of Time magazine, accompanied by the headline “The Republican Savior.” At the time, many political analysts—Bill Clinton reportedly among them—viewed the Florida senator as a big threat to the Democrats in 2016. Now, following his announcement on Monday in Miami, he’s officially in the race for the Republican nomination, but as a rank outsider. According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, just 7.5 per cent of likely Republican voters consider him their first-choice candidate. That puts him in seventh place, behind Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Ben Carson, and Mike Huckabee.
I think evaluation comes best after the Iowa primary, at least, and perhaps two more after that before his strength is clearly established or not.
