White House hopeful Marco Rubio of Florida snagged an endorsement from his colleague Cory Gardner of Colorado today— the candidate’s first from a sitting U.S. Senator.
“Today I am proud to announce my endorsement of Marco Rubio to be the president of the United States,” Gardner said on Fox News. “Our country needs a new generation of leadership, and I believe Marco Rubio presents this nation with the greatest possibilities and opportunities to meet the challenges of this generation.”
The endorsement from a young, Republican rising star in a battleground swing state comes just after a debate here in Colorado where Rubio was a standout. Colorado is also a state with a large Latino voting population.
Gardner said of the 44-year-old Rubio: “He’s someone who’s fought for human rights and championed freedom around the globe,” and also touted his electability in a general election against Hillary Clinton, should she get the Democratic nomination for president.
Calling himself a “new kind of Republican,” Gardner last year defeated sitting Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Udall in one of the most closely watched elections of the midterms.
DonkeyHotey, Creative Commons, Flickr.
