MIAMI, Fla- Florida GOP senate candidate Marco Rubio will be traveling to South Carolina next month to take part in a joint fundraising swing of the Palmetto state with one of his political mentors, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Fox News Channel can confirm.First reported by CNN, the DeMint campaign will also create a website DeMintRubio.com next week that will highlight the tour.
DeMint was one of Rubio’s earliest supporters, who bucked the trend of some of his Republican colleagues, and the National Senatorial Republican Committee by endorsing Rubio’s senate quest, which was deemed quixotic, at the time, by many GOP campaign analysts because of Crist’s large lead in early polls. Last week, DeMint also enthusiastically introduced Rubio at the Conservative Political Action Conference before his key note speech in D.C., that some conservatives are calling Rubio’s launch onto the national conservative scene.
Despite reports questioning Rubio’s arrival at an early primary state on the 2012 schedule, his campaign sought to emphatically downplay the visit.
“CNN totally overwrote this. Marco is going to travel with Demint to a bunch of small dollar events to raise money for the senate campaign,” a senior Rubio aide told Fox News producer Jake Gibson.
“It’s disappointing that Speaker Rubio’s new found fame would lead him to so quickly forget Floridians, “Amanda Henneberg, Crist press secretary, said in an email .” Slowly but surely, we are seeing more of who the real Marco Rubio is – someone who routinely puts politics and political aspirations (and in this case South Carolina) above the people.”
DeMint’s spokesman scoffs at the Crist campaign’s assertion, saying Rubio and DeMint’s lap around South Carolina is to help Rubio raise campaign funds to combat Crist’s large war chest of roughly $ 7 .5 million cash on hand. At last count, Rubio had about $ 2 million.
“Rubio is surging in the polls but Gov. Crist still has a big fundraising advantage. Rubio wasn’t the choice of the Washington establishment so he must build grassroots support.”Wesley Denton, DeMint’s spokesman tells Fox.”Senator DeMint is committed to helping Marco raise the resources needed to get his message out, which is why the Senator sponsored an online money bomb for Rubio this month and is planning the events in South Carolina in March.”