Marco Rubio may be the most valuable player in the 2012 Florida GOP primary for U.S. Senate.
Rubio's endorsement could turn out to be more valuable than that of former Gov. Jeb Bush or Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
Rubio has been a U.S. Senator for about four months - long enough for conservatives like Rush Limbaugh to swoon over the idea of a Rubio presidency.
And the fact is that despite Jeb Bush's enormous popularity, the luster starts to fade when you have been out of office for more than four years and are showing no signs of getting back in the game.
And while a sitting governor can be a huge help, if Rick Scott's popularity doesn't begin to climb his endorsement may do more harm than good.
Which brings us back to Rubio - who will he endorse?
Crowley Political Report is putting the early money on former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner.
In fact, it may be hard for Rubio to endorse anyone else. Rubio may want to stay away from George LeMieux who is still joined-at-the-hip to Charlie Crist despite LeMieux's efforts to get a Las Vegas divorce.
And Rubio may not see much appeal in Senate President Mike Haridopolos who is the well-known author of a $152,000 book.
Rubio is likely to sit it out until he sees how the field shakes itself out, but if he wants to pick the winner early he could shake up the race by making an endorsement in the next few months.
We suspect all three of the candidates will take his call.
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Art by Pat Crowley
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