Marco Rubio's communications director is calling a CNN report that advisers are quietly pushing the Republican presidential candidate to exit the race before his home state's primary "100 percent false."
"That is fiction," Alex Conant told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday afternoon, adding that he just attended a meeting where the campaign planned out next week's schedule. Earlier, CNN reported that, according to unidentified sources, some advisers are worried that Rubio won't win the Florida primary on March 15, and that could ruin his chances of ever running for governor or being selected as vice president. "He doesn't want to get killed in his home state," one source told CNN. "A poor showing would be a risk and hurt his political future."
Those who want him to stay in the race say Rubio has proven before he can win in Florida, and can come from behind, CNN said. A Monmouth poll released Monday shows Donald Trump leading Rubio in Florida, 38 percent to 30 percent; two weeks ago, a Quinnipiac poll had Trump with 44 percent compared to Rubio's 28 percent. Rubio received some good news over the weekend, when he won the Republican primary in Puerto Rico.