Rubio seizes on contrast with Clinton

Sen. Marco Rubio is looking to turn an unexpected turn of events into a positive for his campaign.

On Monday evening, the Florida Republican will announce he’s running for president, just one day after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton swooped in and appeared to steal some of his thunder by doing the same. 

The conventional wisdom was that the Democrat had stepped all over what was supposed to be a big day for Rubio. But that’s not how his allies see it.

{mosads}“The contrast of yesterday’s Hillary today and @marcorubio tomorrow is looking better and better,” Rubio’s New Hampshire strategist, Jim Merrill, tweeted on Sunday.

Rubio had been planning his rollout for some time. The senator rented out the Freedom Tower in Miami for his big day, and his campaign team has been touting a “big announcement” on social media for weeks.

The senator appeared poised to own the late April media cycle, but Clinton moved in swiftly over the weekend with a low-key video announcement saying she’d once again seek the White House.

Republicans say that, rather than muddying the waters for Rubio, there is opportunity for him in the confluence of events.

“It sets up a nice contrast in their stories,” said GOP strategist Ron Bonjean. “One comes from a political dynasty, and one brings fresh blood.”

To date, the presidential announcements had been nicely spaced to give each candidate the spotlight to themselves for at least a week.

By going first, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) used the buzz he generated to catapult him into the top tier of Republican candidates.

Rubio’s team will now be looking to capitalize on the turn of events that has thrust their candidate into the spotlight alongside the Democratic front-runner by highlighting the contrast between old and new.

“Absolutely, the optics will be in play here,” said Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), who will support Rubio for president in 2016. “You never can control what other news events are going on, but certainly, there’s this dichotomy between the two camps with Hillary’s announcement — people already know who she is and what she’s all about.”

Many cable news stations have been running split screens of the two candidates, and Republicans say this gives the public a stark contrast between Clinton, who they say is a candidate from the past, and Rubio, who they see as a next generation candidate with multi-ethnic appeal.

Rubio’s campaign slogan, “New American Century,” is centered on that idea. At 43, he’s the youngest contender on either side. At 67, Clinton is older than all of the potential Republican candidates.

The GOP has sought to portray Clinton early on as stale and as a lifelong creature of Washington 

“Over decades as a Washington insider, Clinton has left a trail of secrecy, scandal, and failed policies that can’t be erased from voters’ minds,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement on Sunday. 

“Republicans have a strong and diverse set of candidates who will engage in a productive debate on how to move our country forward,” he said. “Clinton’s coronation represents more of the same, and voters have made it clear they want a new direction.”