Rubio’s Iowa Play

“Up until about a month ago, Marco Rubio had steered clear of Republican primaries, avoiding antagonizing one wing of the party or the other when he’s probably going to need them both come 2016,” Politico reports.

“Then along came the Iowa Senate primary. It featured a candidate with rare appeal to both wings of the party, in an early presidential voting state where Rubio needs to gain traction if he’s going to run for president. So the Florida Republican senator made an exception: He has gone all in for Joni Ernst, dropping $210,000 in independent expenditures on the Iowa state senator’s behalf and stumping with her Monday in the Des Moines area on the eve of her Tuesday primary for the Senate GOP nomination.”