After four years in the Senate, Marco Rubio, no doubt feeling he has accomplished everything he set out to in Congress, has aimed his sights higher, to the Presidency. Or, more pragmatically, to the Vice-Presidency; if an Anglo gets nominated, Rubio will be very high on the VP list; of course, if a Hispanic like Cruz or a virtual Hispanic like Bush gets nominated, then all bets are off.

But in the mean time there will be an opening in 2016 for Rubio's senate seat, since he had decided not to run for two seats at the same time, like Rand Paul. And the contours of that primary race are beginning to come into focus.

The Republican race for Florida’s soon-to-be open Senate seat has the potential makings of a primary bloodbath, pitting the establishment wing of the party and insurgent movement conservative groups against each other as they prepare to pick sides between Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Rep. Ron DeSantis.

“Carlos Lopez-Cantera is not a conservative,” [Ken] Cuccinelli, the conservative former Virginia attorney general who lost the 2013 gubernatorial race, told The Palm Beach Post on Wednesday. “He supported Charlie Crist‘s budget that raised taxes by $2.2 billion, he supported in-state tuition for illegal aliens, and he’s supported wasteful spending at the state level. If he runs, we will actively oppose his nomination.”

More:

In May 2009, then-Republican Gov. Crist signed a $66.5 billion budget that included a slew of new taxes and fees -- roughly $2 billion worth -- intended to balance the state budget during the recession. The hikes included auto tag fees, a $1-a-pack cigarette tax, as well as higher fees to visit state parks and to file civil lawsuits and foreclosure actions. There is no dispute that Crist signed those tax and fee increases into law, but the Republican Party of Florida omits that the tax and fee hikes were supported by the Republican-led Legislature at the time. That includes influential Republican legislators who now in key leadership positions: Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who was House majority whip at the time; 

Lopez-Cantera, who couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, has heard the criticism before and in interviews has told reporters that the state House budget that was initially produced had no stimulus money or tax increases — but that then-Gov. Crist and the state Senate essentially forced the House to accept the budget.

Well, this is understandable. If the executive refuses to accept a budget that doesn't increase taxes, then the legislature has no choiec but to raise taxes. I think Lopez-Cantera will fit in quite well with the Republicans in the US Senate.

Meanwhile, Rep. DeSantis gets an A rating from conservativereview.com. He voted (1) against funding Homeland Security to include funding for amnesty; (2) for the Keystone Pipeline, (3) against a bill that funded executive amnesty, (4) against funding the Export-Import Bank, (5) to freeze Obama's amnesty program for so-called "Dreamers", (6) against increasing the debt limit, (7) against federal funding of abortions, and (8) against the 1,600 page omnibus spending bill. Can you guess who the Chamber of Commerce is going to oppose in this race?

Others may also get into the race:

the GOP field to replace Sen. Marco Rubio is far from set: Rep. Jeff Miller stopped here Thursday as part of a state listening tour to gauge support for a potential bid. Former state Attorney General Bill McCollum is making calls to see how much support he can muster. Rep. David Jolly, former Sen. George LeMieux and state Sen. Don Gaetz have expressed interest as well.

Let's hope two conservatives don't get in and split the vote so Lopez-Cantera squeaks in. I don't trust policitians who vote to raise taxes and give benefits to illegal aliens.

This article was produced by NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.