--- title: 2016 Presidential Race: Marco Rubio Says Family Behind a Campaign description: The Florida Republican also speaks highly of Jeb Bush canonical: https://time.com/3676242/marco-rubio-2016-presidential-race/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-21T15:38:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:45.269Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rubio Says His Family Is Behind Presidential Run og:description: The Florida Republican also speaks highly of Jeb Bush og:url: https://time.com/3676242/marco-rubio-2016-presidential-race/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ed01719f58a4397/69877af855a85940e8a855cf/marco-rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Marco Rubio og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rubio Says His Family Is Behind Presidential Run twitter:description: The Florida Republican also speaks highly of Jeb Bush twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ed01719f58a4397/69877af855a85940e8a855cf/marco-rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rubio Says His Family Is Behind a Presidential Run ## Video: Marco Rubio [Watch (HLS stream): Marco Rubio](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IEpe8faM.m3u8) (1:12)  _Published 2013-06-13. Marco Rubio_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jan 21, 2015 3:38 PM UTC  Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on Dec. 17, 2014. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on Dec. 17, 2014.J. Scott Applewhite—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jan 21, 2015 3:38 PM UTC Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday that his family is on board if he decides to run for president, but he has yet to make up his mind about whether to seek the White House. Speaking at a breakfast for reporters organized by the _Christian Science Monitor_, Rubio said he has spoken and emailed with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush since his onetime political mentor announced he would “actively explore” a presidential bid last month. Rubio declined to describe those conversations, but said Bush’s decision would not impact his. “I think Jeb Bush is going to be a very credible candidate,” Rubio said, adding that he could “easily” raise more than $100 million to win the Republican nomination. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters “From my perspective, the decision that I’m going to have to make is where is the best place for me to serve this country at this time in my life, at this time in my career,” he said. “And the choice before me is to continue in the Senate, especially now that we hope to hold an enduring majority, or do it from the presidency. And both of those avenues have their own set of opportunities that are alluring.” Rubio reiterated his position that he would not stand for reelection should he decide to run for president. “If I run it will not be with the intention of looking for a Plan B if it doesn’t work out,” he said. “My intention if I run for president is to run for president.” Rubio’s comments come as he is set to meet with donors in Florida this weekend before flying out to California to attend a gathering organized by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers. **MORE:** [How 7 ideas in the State of the Union would affect you](http://time.com/3670372/state-union-obama-ideas/) Rubio declined to directly criticize Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King’s comments Tuesday evening, in which King called a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama to the State of the Union a “deportable” because she was brought to the U.S. illegally as a child. “I believe that that describes to some extent one of the issues that we confront when we debate these issues,” Rubio said, adding, “We have to always remind ourselves that we’re talking about human beings with hopes and dreams and families.” Responding to arguments from many Republicans that the next president should be a governor to draw a contrast with President Barack Obama, Rubio quipped: “If I was a governor I’d make the same argument too.” But he argued that a grasp of national security issues is more important than executive experience. **MORE:** [Obama made history by using this word during the State of the Union](http://time.com/3675798/state-union-transgender/) “I believe that the central obligation of the federal government… is providing for the national security,” he said. “The next President of the United States needs to be someone who has a clear vision of American’s role in the world. “For governors that’s going to be a challenge at least initially,” Rubio added, “since they don’t deal with foreign policy on a daily basis.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3676242/marco-rubio-2016-presidential-race/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3676242/marco-rubio-2016-presidential-race/"},"headline":"Rubio Says His Family Is Behind a Presidential Run","datePublished":"2015-01-21T15:38:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:40:45.269Z","description":"The Florida Republican also speaks highly of Jeb Bush","url":"https://time.com/3676242/marco-rubio-2016-presidential-race/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ed01719f58a4397/69877af855a85940e8a855cf/marco-rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ed01719f58a4397/69877af855a85940e8a855cf/marco-rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Marco Rubio","caption":"Marco Rubio","creditText":"J. 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