Marco Rubio is happy Chris Christie won reelection and all, but he'd like everyone to calm down just a little bit all the same.
Speaking to CNN's Dana Bash, Rubio tried to downplay the potential implications of Christie's reelection for the 2016 presidential race, saying, "I think we need to understand that some of these races don't apply to future races. Every race is different — it has a different set of factors — but I congratulate [Gov. Christie] on his win."
Rubio continued, being sure to say the words "New Jersey" as frequently as was reasonably possible: "Clearly he was able to speak to the hopes and aspirations of people within New Jersey. That's important. We want to win everywhere and Governor Christie has certainly shown he has a way of winning in New Jersey, in states like New Jersey ... so I congratulate him on that."
More from the Huffington Post:
[Rubio] also defended Ken Cuccinelli, the tea party-backed state attorney general who was defeated by Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia's gubernatorial election on Tuesday. Rubio, who stumped for Cuccinelli, dismissed the notion that voters had rejected the tea party's ideology by electing McAuliffe.
"I think people try to ascribe all kinds of conclusions to these races," Rubio said, pointing out that Cuccinelli had been outspent by his opponent.
"Unfortunately, he didn't have those resources to answer some of the negative attacks that were levied against him, that created a caricature of him that he was unable to undo," Rubio said. "Despite all of that, he came within just a handful of points of winning a race that a week ago everyone around here was saying was going to be a blowout."
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