With less than three weeks to go until voters in Massachusetts replace John Kerry, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is urging conservatives to help fellow Republican Gabriel Gomezs Senate bid.
From his Reclaim America PAC, Rubio, widely expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, sent out an email to supporters praising Gomez and warning that Democrats will go all out to help U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass, keep the seat in their column.
"Gomez is currently facing a massive onslaught of Democratic special interest money," Rubio wrote. Everyone from President Obama to Harry Reid to a host of Hollywood liberals have pitched in to help defeat Gomez. Now it's time to come to his aid."
Presidential politics could be in play here. Massachusetts is just south of New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary. Many radio and television ads from Massachusetts bleed over into southern New Hampshire, which includes some of the most populous parts of the state. Rubio has been somewhat active in New Hampshire already, running television ads praising U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, for her votes against gun control.
But there are dangers for Rubio if he draws too close to Gomez. Earlier this week, Gomez tried to present himself as a new kind of Republican. In a speech on Monday, Gomez tried to portray himself as a moderate Republican in the tradition of William Weld and Ed Brooke.
One of the things I am going to change in Washington is my own party. I am fully aware that in a few months from now, some in the Republican Party will consider me to be a pain in the butt. And I am okay with that, Gomez said. Right now, the GOP is a party that has promised more change than it has delivered and is sometimes stuck in the past. Im going to work to fix that. How can we fix anything else if we cant fix our own party? Our party should be an example of the solution not the problem. If the Republican Party cant bring itself to appeal to every American voter, it should just shut its doors. No, we should be the party of every American all Americans and all Americans equally, not a party for the privileged few.
On a host of issues, Gomez looked to win over traditionally left-leaning voters in Massachusetts. Calling himself a green Republican, he insisted climate change is a real problem, and I believe that humans are a big part of the problem. He also said he supported same-sex marriage. I support allowing two people to get married, whether they are gay or straight, he said. Again, that wont sit well with many in the Republican Party, but I will go to work on them.
Gomez also indicated he did not stand with the likes of Rubio and Ayotte on gun control. I support the effort to expand background checks for gun purchases, he said. Unfortunately, the Toomey-Manchin bill that would have done just that got only four Republican votes in the Senate. I will work to get more Republican support and get this bill passed.
However, Gomez and Rubio clearly stand on the same side of immigration reform. Despite recent comments that he might vote against it unless it is amended to increase border security, Rubio has been the most visible supporter in the Senate pushing immigration reform.
I support immigration reform, bringing people in from behind the shadows, and developing a path for them to be participants in the American Dream, Gomez said. I know that many in the Republican Party are against that. I will go to work on them.
For his part, Rubio praised Gomezs background in the military and the private sector and noted a Republican win in Massachusetts would help take the Senate back from the Democrats.
"Gomez is a business leader and a former Navy Seal who knows what it means to fight for our freedoms, Rubio wrote his supporters. Now he's fought within inches of a major political upset that could have national implications which is why liberals have pulled out all the stops.
While polls from last month had shown Gomez within striking distance of the Democrat, a poll released this week finds Markey holding on to a comfortable lead. A poll of voters from New England College released on Tuesday shows Markey with 52 percent and Gomez trailing with 40 percent. The poll of 374 registered Massachusetts voters was taken from June 1-June 2 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percent.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this story exclusively for Sunshine State News.
