Only four candidates

Pro-Rubio super PAC: Only four candidates have a shot at nomination

By Daniel Strauss

The super PAC backing Marco Rubio sees just four candidates having a shot of winning the Republican nomination. And Jeb Bush isn't one of them.

"When you consider all angles, as we do, we believe there are really only four candidates with a reasonable chance of becoming the Republican nominee: Senator Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson, Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz," Warren Tompkins, head of the Conservative Solutions PAC, and media consultant and lead strategist Jon Lerner wrote in a memo sent out to donors, friends and supporters on Friday.

"And when you look on to the general election against Hillary Clinton, we are convinced that Marco gives the GOP its best chance to win. The Clinton Machine itself openly acknowledges that Marco is the candidate they most fear."

The Friday memo follows a debate performance earlier in the week in which Bush attacked Rubio's record on votes in the Senate. Rubio quickly parried the attack, and since then some donors have begun questioning the strength of Bush's campaign and his ability to beat Rubio and the rest of the field in the primary.

And while Rubio has so far kept a relatively low profile during the 2016 race, the memo from Tompkins and Lerner is a sign that the Conservative Solutions PAC plans to ramp up its activity in the primary in support of the Florida senator.

"Our job is to bring Marco’s optimistic conservative message to as many voters as possible. Your generous help has enabled us to do that. As you know, our PAC has not yet run a single TV ad. But we are very well prepared to do so at the right time," the two operatives continue. "While we have not made a final decision about when to begin airing it, we wanted to show you what our first TV ad looks like. We hope you agree that it captures the essence of what Marco’s candidacy is all about."