Authors: Joshua Cohan

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL., has been coy in the past about the prospect of being the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee. But on Wednesday he was far more definitive than he has been, stating that he is not going to be the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee.
When asked at the Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Rubio repeated twice for emphasis, “I am not going to be the vice presidential nominee. I am not going to be the vice presidential nominee.”
Asked during the forum if he would turn down an offer if the Republican presidential nominee asks him to, Rubio responded, “Yeah, I believe so,” adding again, “the answer is going to be no.”
Described as a rising star in the Republican Party, Rubio’s name has been tossed around as a possible vice presidential candidate since he was elected to the Senate in 2010.
Rubio spoke Wednesday about the seriousness with which he takes his job as a U.S. Senator, citing that as his reason for not considering the vice presidential position.
“I’m not focused on that,” he said. “I don’t crave it. I wanted to be a United States Senator. I didn’t run for the Senate as an opportunity to have a launching pad for some other job. I think one of the things that I lament is that people somehow come to the conclusion that United States Senator is not enough. Listen, the United States Senate is still an important, I think very important institution.”
Rubio said that a Senator can never get big things done in the Senate if they are “focused on it as some sort of a launch pad for something else.”
Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

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