Three down, one to go.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican and potential presidential candidate, hit the third of four stops in his book tour, with one more scheduled next week.
In Greenville, South Carolina, Thursday, Rubio touted “American Dreams,” his book on how to restore “economic opportunity for everyone.”
In a 10-day span (from last Friday until next week), he’ll have made book stops in West Des Moines, Iowa; Las Vegas, Nevada; Greenville; and Manchester, New Hampshire.
Coincidentally, the early GOP nominating calendar for 2016 includes runs through Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
Officially, Rubio is only thinking about running, although he’s thinking about it pretty seriously. As for when the thinking might come to an end, Rubio had said he would decide on a race “soon.”
The event in South Carolina brought a question about a potential competitor for Rubio in what is an already-crowded field of potential competitors. South Carolina’s own U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is thinking about joining as well, and Rubio said he’d offer some stiff competition – both in the state and nationally.
Said Rubio, according to The Greenville News: "He's also very knowledgeable on national security issues, one of the preeminent spokespersons for a strong national defense. So if he runs for president, I think he's going to be a very strong candidate, particularly on national security, and will be a real challenge to his opponents, not just in South Carolina, but in other parts of the country."