Rubio urges conservatives to uplift their ideology, brushes off Republicans’ midterm losses

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday downplayed Republicans’ devastating losses in the midterm elections, instead telling supporters, “Politics requires more than simply winning elections.”

“Those who believe that one setback, one defeat, one bad election spells the end of the republic should look to you as an example for inspiration,” Rubio said in his first major remarks since Election Day, given to the conservative Federalist Society at the National Lawyer’s Convention in Washington, D.C.

Rubio, whose name has been floated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, told the audience, “Great things that last are built in decades, not election cycles.”

“There will be more victories, and there will be more defeats,” he said. “There will be more triumphs, and there will be more disappointments.”

The secretary of state urged the crowd to remember that the government “is not the only source of political power” as he emphasized the importance of still uplifting conservative ideology despite election losses.

Rubio pointed to power held by universities, the press and “the whole expanse of civil society.”

“Elections decide who holds office for a season, but elections, they do not decide by themselves what our institutions teach or what our lawyers believe,” Rubio…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business