U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the chairman of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, endorsed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday.
Chaffetz told NBC News that he was backing Rubio. First elected to Congress in 2008, Chaffetz has won some national attention for his calls for Social Security reform and investigating former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s handling of the Benghazi terrorist attacks back in 2012.
“Marco Rubio – he is the real thing,” Chaffetz said. “He is a great conservative. He has a great record and I think he would be just an amazing president.”
Chaffetz campaigned heavily for former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., last time out and said he would be wore than willing to do the same for Rubio.
“I will do whatever I can to get the right person to beat Hillary Clinton and I think that’s Marco Rubio and I will do whatever it takes,” Chaffetz insisted. “We need to share a positive message about why we need a conservative and Marco Rubio is the best I’ve seen.”
Chaffetz briefly ran to replace outgoing U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, back in October but scudded his candidacy as other contenders emerged to wield the gavel.
Rubio and Chaffetz will campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina, two states that hold early primaries. At the national level and in Iowa, Rubio trails businessman Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in the polls. Rubio’s team is focusing on New Hampshire and South Carolina as they look to gain some momentum in the early states.
Asked by NBC News if Rubio can breakthrough in the early states, Chaffetz said voters were still looking at who to support.
“I think as people firm up their decisions, they’ve got to take a good hard look at all the candidates,” Chaffetz said. “I am not going to tell them who to vote for but I’ve looked at them all and I think Marco Rubio is the right person.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
