IF WE CAN'T HAVE JEB...:

GOP could win 3 key Senate seats (JOSH KRAUSHAAR, 1/14/09, Politico)

In Florida, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio is expected to run for the seat vacated by Martinez. A 37-year-old Cuban-American, Rubio would give Republicans a good shot at winning the politically pivotal Hispanic vote.

An acolyte of former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush, Rubio is a telegenic conservative with a Newt Gingrich-like knack for coming up with policy proposals, even writing a book called “100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future.”

“He’s a young, good-looking, exciting guy,” said Florida Republican consultant Mac Stevenson. “And he’s a fresh ethnic face to Republicans, who are overwhelmingly white and are looking for a magic-bullet answer.”

John Dowless, a Republican media consultant in Florida, added that Rubio would be a dynamite fundraiser who would receive overwhelming support from the sizable Republican Cuban-American community in a primary. Having Jeb Bush as an ally would also be an asset.

“It’s not a bad thing to be Bush-light in a primary,” said Dowless.