Marco Rubio and around 300 of his biggest supporters and confidants entered the swanky Delano Hotel on South Beach today. By the time they leave tomorrow, they may have a better idea of whether Rubio will run for president.
In fact, according to the Miami Herald, Rubio has already told aides to "prepare for a presidential campaign."
One thing is for sure, Rubio definitely wants people to know that he's thinking about running for president.
"He has told us to proceed as if he is running for president," another senior Rubio aide told ABC News.
Of course, that doesn't mean he's decided just yet.
The Team Marco 2016 summit serves as a strategy meeting as Rubio prepares to start raising money for, well, something. A fundraising tour of California next week is "officially" meant to benefit his Senate reelection campaign in 2016, but instead the cash could be used for a run at the White House. (Oh, P.S.: he's skipping his official duties as Florida's senator to spend the week bathing in California cash instead of voting on things.)
Basically, the message seems to be: OK, go out and raise a lot of money for me like I'm running for president. But if I decide not to, it would be nice to have a lot of money just to run for reelection instead.
Other aides tell both ABC and the Miami Herald that Rubio hasn't made a decision, but expect one to be made by the end of February.
Perhaps the message is also a tactic to make big-time out-of-state donors think they're possibly donating to a presidential run when in fact it could still be used for a senate race in a state where the Democratic Party has a very weak list of potential opponents.
Rubio also has a book tour planned that will take him through many early primary states, starting in Iowa and making stops in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.
TL;DR: Rubio still isn't sure what he's running for, but he'd like to raise a lot of money for it nonetheless. Of course, a super successful fundraising haul over the next month could very well tip him toward a White House run.
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