This weekend, Florida voters can expect to see some of the leading politicians in the nation as they hit the Sunshine State in the last days of a close gubernatorial election.
Earlier this week, Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., announced he would be campaigning alongside the likes of former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., and Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., the chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), both of whom are potential presidential candidates come 2016. On Friday, another possible 2016 hopeful was added to the mix as Scotts campaign announced that U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will hit the campaign trail with the governor on Saturday.
Rubio will appear alongside Scott on Saturday with campaign rallies scheduled in Sun City Center, Venice and Fort Myers as they look to pump up Republican turnout. Christie, currently in the middle of a 19-state tour as he looks to help Republican gubernatorial candidates across the nation, will join Scott and Rubio at a campaign stop in Naples. Scott will campaign with Bush in Hialeah on Sunday.
But Democratic challenger former Gov. Charlie Crist is also relying on big names to turn out his voters. Despite having called for Bill Clinton's resignation as president back in 1998 when Crist ran for the U.S. Senate as a conservative Republican, Crist will hit Orlando with Bill Clinton on Monday, while on Thursday he campaigned with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Crist is also getting the help of a potential hopeful looking at running for president in 2016. On Friday, news emerged that Vice President Joe Biden, who hit the campaign trail with Crist in the middle of October, is headed back to South Florida to encourage voters to the polls. Biden will campaign for Crist on Sunday and Monday.
Biden and Rubio are also getting more active in one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation as U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., faces a serious challenge from Republican candidate Miami-Dade School Board member Carlos Curbelo. Biden will campaign for Garcia while he is in South Florida on Sunday and Monday. Rubio sent out an email to conservatives on Thursday, urging them to contribute to Curbelos campaign.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
