Hmm: Rubio Camp Denies Report of Imminent Romney Endorsement

One key to Marco Rubio's come-from-behind victory among the not-Trump crowd in South Carolina was consolidating the support of popular elected officials in the state. With the Nevada caucuses pending, Team Rubio has

rolled out the endorsement of Silver State Senator Dean Heller -- who'd previously backed Jeb Bush, and who is joining Rubio on the stump today in advance of Tuesday's voting:

BREAKING: @DeanHeller endorses @marcorubio and will join him on the trail in NV today https://t.co/IRTRNkjyS5
— Caitlin Conant (@caitlinconant) February 21, 2016

Heller is in his first full term, having narrowly won his 2012 race in a state that Barack Obama carried by six points over Mitt Romney. The freshman, a former Congressman who was first appointed to the upper chamber in 2010, won by dominating in Nevada's rural areas. His support is somewhat valuable for Rubio, but you'd better believe his campaign would prefer to have Gov. Brian Sandoval on board. Sandoval is a Latino, a moderate Republican, and an overt Trump opponent. He's also extremely popular in the state, enjoying a job approval rating in the high-50's to mid-60's. Will he remain on the sidelines? Tick tock. Which brings us to the aforementioned Mr. Romney. The last GOP standard-bearer remains broadly well-liked among Republicans, and could potentially help Rubio in Nevada, which is home to a sizable Mormon population. Romney won dominant victories in this contest in both 2008 and 2012. His blessing would also signal that the so-called party establishment was rallying behind the candidate who is promising to unite the conservative movement. The

For what it's worth, I heard a similar rumor last week, but when I sought confirmation, sources close to Rubio told me they'd heard no such thing. Incidentally, the Floridian lived in Las Vegas as a child for several years, so he'll certainly try to present a 'homecoming' narrative ahead of the caucuses; he could use another boost, though. If Romney does, indeed, have designs on throwing his support behind Rubio, what is he waiting for? Public polling of the race, which has been quite scarce, presents a familiar dynamic: Donald Trump holds a large lead, with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio effectively tied for second, pulling nearly 20 percent each. Bush, Kasich and Carson draw 16 percent combined support. I'll leave you with Nate Silver's take on the state of the Republican race vis-a-vis Rubio. Even if this data is on

Team Marco's side, their path to victory relies on externalities that are developing very slowly, as Trump amasses a delegate lead:

Bullish case on Rubio is not complicated. It's that he'll gain as other candidates quit. Lots of data supports that. https://t.co/P6LUhBG6Lq
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) February 21, 2016

This is similar (though not quite identical) to Cruz's map to the nomination, by the way, which is why neither remaining Senator is likely to exit the race any time soon. Advantage, Trump:

This Kasich answer not likely to please many in GOP. "People want to consolidate, they ought to consolidate my way. pic.twitter.com/Xe3cDG28pF
— Kyle Blaine (@kyletblaine) February 21, 2016