But really, it never went away. As recently as last month, Marco Rubio was snarkily assuring reporters that he was going to stay on a glide path to private-sector obscurity.
I have only said like 10000 times I will be a private citizen in January.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 17, 2016
But if a string of third-place finishes in the Republican primary could not kill Rubio-mentum, than how could a mere promise not to run for re-election in the Senate? Rubio now says he’s changed his mind, giving the GOP a better chance to hold on to that seat.
So Little Marco is back, on the upswing. The only snag is the distinct possibility that Donald Trump will destroy the GOP’s hopes down-ticket in November. But in that case Rubio will have only made good on his promise to become a private citizen after all.