Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida endorsed Mitt Romney as the party's presidential nominee Wednesday night, saying it's increasingly clear that Romney will win the nomination and that continuing the primary fight will only damage the effort to defeat President Barack Obama.
Rubio, a freshman senator and Tea Party favorite, said he's convinced that Romney will govern as a conservative and will be superior to Obama as a president.
"The quicker we can get this campaign on that focus – focused on the president's record, on the alternative that we offer – the better off we're going to be as a movement but also the better off the country's going to be," Rubio said during an interview with Fox News Channel.
Rubio had pledged to stay neutral in the race, and did not endorse anyone in Florida’s GOP contest in late January. But on Wednesday he said a floor fight over the nomination at the party convention in August would be "a recipe to deliver four more years to Barack Obama."
Justin Sayfie, Romney's Florida campaign co-chairman, said Rubio’s endorsement may inch him closer to a Romney-Rubio ticket in November.
“When Republicans talk amongst each other about who’s a great candidate to be on the vice president ticket, Senator Marco Rubio's name is at the top of the list,” Sayfie told NBC 6.
Rubio told Fox News that his heart, mind and focus remain on the Senate and said he doubts he would be asked to join a Romney ticket.
Rubio's endorsement followed that of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and came a day before former president George H.W. Bush backed Romney – additional signs that more and more party leaders are falling in line behind the former Massachusetts governor rather than former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, former House speaker Newt Gingrich or Texas Congressman Ron Paul.
Gingrich has scaled back his campaign, saying he wants to focus on winning the nomination at the convention if Romney fails to win enough delegates during the primary race.
The knock against Romney is that he's not conservative enough to capture base Republican voters. He has a large lead in the delegate race, but Santorum keeps winning states with a high proportion of rural conservative voters.
Political science Professor Charles Zelden of Nova Southeastern University says establishment Republicans have no choice but to support Romney.
"They're jumping on the wagon, they're saying OK, let's circle the wagons, we're backing this guy, he's our guy, let's get ready for the big show," Zelden said.
NBC 6's Steve Litz contributed reporting.
