jeb bush<u+2019>s resignation from the presidential race has already set off a chain reaction within the g.o.p., with the huffington post reporting mitt romney is set to endorse marco rubio following his strong second-place finish in saturday<u+2019>s south carolina primary. and, according to politico, the pressure is already on for bush to do the same.









though details of romney<u+2019>s endorsement are <u+201c>still being worked out<u+201d> as of this morning, sources tell the huffington post that romney has been <u+201c>eager to provide his backing to rubio for days<u+201d> but hesitated out of respect for bush. his endorsement could come before tuesday<u+2019>s g.o.p. caucuses in nevada, which dedicated romneyists will recall were twice won by romney himself.









for his part, though, rubio doesn<u+2019>t believe the romney endorsement is coming anytime soon. <u+201c>well, that report is false,<u+201d> he told cnn of the romney rumors on sunday. <u+201c>i have no reason to believe that he<u+2019>s anywhere near endorsing anyone. we would love to have his endorsement, but there<u+2019>s nothing forthcoming. i don<u+2019>t know where those reports are coming from, but they<u+2019>re false.<u+201d>









should romney indeed endorse rubio, his backing would make sense, as he and rubio have a history: rubio once made romney<u+2019>s vp shortlist, and rubio once chilled at romney<u+2019>s new hampshire vacation home on the fourth of july, which is the most republican sentence that has ever been written. romney<u+2019>s seal of approval is key in that it suggests establishment republican leaders are finally ready to <u+201c>coalesce<u+201d> around rubio, rallying together to defeat the waking nightmare that is donald trump<u+2019>s current front-running status.









on the jeb-endorsing-rubio front, things are less clear-cut. the two fellow floridians spent months savaging each other on the campaign trail, and bush dropped out of the race because rubio essentially destroyed him in south carolina. bush needs a few days to cool off, call his mom, and secure his invite to romney<u+2019>s new hampshire vacation home before he<u+2019>s ready to address the florida politicos who are chomping at the bit to know whether he<u+2019>ll <u+201c>endorse the man he long called a friend<u+201d> in public but apparently lambastes in private<u+2014>sometimes in <u+201c>strikingly personal overtones,<u+201d> according to politico. if bush decides not to endorse rubio, it will mark a significant political rift in florida<u+2014>a state where, it should be mentioned, trump remains far ahead in the polls.









the clock is ticking for both possible endorsements: floridians are already voting by absentee ballot for the march 15 primary, which means somebody needs to tell them who the hell to vote for before it<u+2019>s too late and trump wins the nomination. <u+201c>no one knows what<u+2019>s going to happen,<u+201d> an anonymous florida house republican told politico. <u+201c>there are a lot of hard feelings. we<u+2019>ll have to wait till the dust settles. make that, the dirt. once the dirt settles.<u+201d>
mitt romney could soon endorse marco rubio. will jeb join him?
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