Miami Lakes Councilman Manny Cid scored another young GOP VIP — possibly the Holy Grail of 305 GOP endorsements — when Sen. Marco Rubio recorded a robocall for his mayoral bid.

“The 2016 election cycle is about the future,” Rubio says after identifying himself. “Not only the future of our great nation but the future of many municipalities here in Florida. And one leader that represents the same vision as I have is Manny Cid.

“He is a true conservative leader who believes in cutting red tape and wasteful spending. He’s a proven reformer who will serve Miami Lakes residents well as their mayor.”

Cid is running against incumbent Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi and founding mayor Wayne Slaton.

Read related story: Young GOP VIPs back Manny Cid for Miami Lakes mayor

“Senator Rubio and I share similar values and visions for the future. Having him in my corner means a lot to our efforts to bring ew leadership to Miami Lakes,” said Cid, who worked as a legislative aid for former State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez when Rubio was House Speaker.

“I was fortunate to work on one of the 100 ideas for Florida’s future. These types of ideas and reforms have inspired me to promote transparency and accessibility at Town Hall,” Cid told Ladra.

And, of course, that he’s “honored to have his support.”

Pero, por supuesto! Here’s a one-time and future presidential hopeful, the guy who came in No. 3 this year, endorsing little Manny Cid in a municipal race with less than 20,000 registered voters. It’s such a coup that Cid uploaded the recording to YouTube. You know, for people who miss Marco’s call or don’t live in Miami Lakes and just like to hear his voice (don’t judge me). 

Rubio is running his own re-election campaign and has come out to endorse very few candidates. In fact, in addition to , Ladra can only remember him coming out publicly for one other Republican on the ballot: Donald Trump.

Many local Republicans just simply cannot wait to vote for Marco Rubio again in the Aug. 30 primary. So the Miami-Dade GOP is having a straw ballot vote next week  for that U.S. Senate seat.

Of course, the incumbent is the favorite. But all four Republican candidates — Rubio, Carlos Beruff, Ernie Rivera, and Dwight Mark Anthony Young — have been invited to speak or send surrogates on Aug. 11. Members of the Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee will cast straw ballots for whoever they want to go to the general in November against the Democrat that wins, Patrick Murphy or Alan Grayson.

“A bunch of other RECs have done straw polls and the chairs of those counties have told me it has helped motivate members and was different and interesting,” said Miami GOP Chairman Nelson Diaz. “Some of our own members asked me about it, so I brought it up to the executive board, which unanimously requested it.”

He said the results would be made public.

Rubio is swamping Beruff, his closest challenger, in straw polls across the state. The Brevard County REC gave him 411 votes to 105 for Beruff. The developer did even worse in his own backyard of Sarasota, where only his campaign manager voted for him in a 50-1 showing.

Maybe the straw poll voters are looking at scientific polls, including a June Quinnipiac University survey that showed Rubio’s margin growing against both Murphy (50 to 37%) and Gayson (50 to 38%) while Beruff would lose (40 to 34%).

Is there somewhere Ladra can place a bet now?

The primary presidential run is over. The Republican National Convention is yesterday’s news.

On Monday, Sen. Marco Rubio will officially kick-off his Miami-Dade re-election grassroots campaign with a community rally in his hometown.

One week before absentee ballots are mailed to 218,000 voters in Miami-Dade, Rubio’s home and stronghold, this event in West Miami is expected to ignite his volunteer army and support base in the county where he is expected to get the most votes.

Rubio has been traveling Florida — with stops in Jacksonville, Tampa and Fort Myers — to stump for Trump and push for party unity. He had a primetime speech at the GOP convention — but it was short, and previously recorded and uneventful (thank-you-very-much-Ted-Cruz).  And did I mention unconvincing? For the first time ever, a Marco Rubio speech left Ladra, eh. You can even tell he’s reading the prompter — something this avid fangirl has never seen him do.

Maybe his mind was elsewhere?

Next month, Rubio has a major fundraiser in Tallahassee, where he was Majoriy Leader in 2003 and Speaker in 2006. The lunch is hosted by some big time lobbyists Brian Ballard, Nick Iarossi, Scott Ross and Sean Stafford and their wives. Invited guests are expected to bring checks of $5,400 to the Governor’s Club for the event Aug. 22.

Read related story: Marco Rubio revisits with West Miami crowd as ‘one of us’

Rubio is expected to slide easily through the GOP primary against Carlos Beruff , a millionaire Manatee developer who wants to be the Trump of this race. Then, he’ll face either Alan Grayson or Patrick Murphy in the general. And the most recent polls say that will be an easy contest too. A Quinnipiac University survey from earlier this month shows Rubio with double digit leads over both Murphy (13 points, with 50 to 37 perccent) and Grayson (12 points with 50 to 38 percent).

These leads are double what they were before Rubio officially said he wanted to keep his job.

Some people are critical of the about face: Rubio said he would go into the private sector if he didn’t secure the GOP nomination and not seek re-election. But he is entitled to change his mind. And who wouldn’t change their mind after learning that you are leading the polls (by 7 and 8 points, respectively) even when you are not a candidate? That’s a sign that you should jump back in the race if there ever was one. I know many Rubio supporters breathed a sigh of relief.

This fan girl, for one, couldn’t be happier.

Doors for the kick-off open at 1 p.m. at the City of West Miami Community Center, 901 SW 62nd Ave., and the event starts at 1:30 p.m. This is the same place where Miami-Dade Commissioner and Rubio godmother Rebeca Sosa introduced Marquito during a December presidential campaign stop that brought the house down.

After taking five whole days to lick his wounds, Former Gov. Jeb Bush — who dropped out of the Republican presidential race after he came in fourth in South Carolina Saturday — sent an email Wednesday thanking supporters for sticking by his lazy, Eyeore self and defending his lackluster campaign.

It’s probably the last email we’ll be getting from info@Jeb2016.com — unless there’s an endorsement coming later. Sen. Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that he and his former mentor had spoken by phone and agreed to meet in the future.

“He’s just decompressing from this election,” Rubio is quoted as saying. “And trying to get going again in the rest of his life.”

We guess that begins by sending the saddest political email Ladra has ever read. It’s also as exciting and engaging as the Bush campaign. Exactly. After you read this, you have to think “no wonder.”

Here is Jeb’s goodbye email in its entirety:

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Three Miami congress members will basically eat crow today when they formally endorse Sen. Marco Rubio in the GOP presidential primary.

Marquito wasn’t their first choice. But U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen suddenly find themselves without a candidate in the race, since their loser pick, former Gov. Jeb Bush, withdrew Saturday after coming in fourth in South Carolina.

Ladra understands that they don’t want to be shut out of the White House should the universe align and Rubio pull an impossible feat by winning not only the nomination and then the presidency over Hillary Clinton. But just how valuable is this runner-up nod? Not much.

Read related story: Gloves are off in Jeb Bush vs Marco Rubio primary

Nobody is going to forget what Ileana said months ago — that Rubio ought to wait his turn. That he wasn’t mature enough yet. What’s she going to say now to get back on Rubio’s good side? That it’s his turn now? Boy, he grew up a lot in 48 hours.

She told Michael Putney on WPLG Local 10s’s This Week in South Florida Sunday that “This Week in South Florida,” Ros-Lehtinen said “we know and love Marco. We never said one negative word about Marco.”

What is Diaz-Balart going to say? He said months ago that  he was “all in” with Jeb. “I don’t think there’s anybody more prepared to be president than Jeb Bush,” he told The Hill. 

Now he’s going to say there’s nobody more prepared than Rubio? Or is Marco just the next best prepared? Could he be saying the same thing about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz next month?

Read related story: Presidential absentee ballots drop today to 157,000+ voters

Yes, he could. Because this is how it is in party politics, people. 

This sudden Rubio love — an official endorsement at a joint press conference is expected Monday afternoon — is going to be hardest for Curbelo to swallow. He and Rubio have had a longtime feud, rooted in the day Marco beat him for the local party chairmanship and solidified with Curbelo’s giddy backing of Charlie Crist for Senator against his Cuban-American hermano.

What about Jeb? Everyone wants to know if he’s going to throw his weight behind his onetime protege. And how is that going to sound after he’s attacked Rubio on the campaign trail and in debates? Suddenly the no-show votes and abandoning ship on his immigration reform aren’t all that important?

Bush may have hinted at a coming Rubio endorsement with his concession speech Saturday, which sounded a little like the Senator’s stump speech.

“Over the last seven years, our nation’s bright light has become little more than a flicker. We have retreated from the world stage. The American values that have brought peace and opportunity are fading. That is not the America we know and love,” Bush said.

“America is a country that thinks big, acts boldly and leads without apology. It will be up to the next president to restore that kind of leadership.”

Then again, maybe he’s talking about Donald Trump.

Read More.

Coming to a mailbox near you: Absentee ballots for the March 15 presidential primary.

Miami-Dade County Elections Department dropped more than 157,000 ABs in the mail today (Tuesday, Feb. 16) to voters with a request on file. The county encourages these people to be on the lookout for their ballot in the mail.

Ladra encourages Republicans to ignore all the also-rans that are not really in the running anymore but are still on the ballot.

Miami-Dade ballots, like most Florida ballots probably, include candidates like Chris Christie and Lindsay Graham and Carly Fiorina and Jim Gilmore — all of whom have withdrawn from the race.

In fact, there are more candidates on the ballot, at 13, than there are in real life. As of right now, there are only six candidates left: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.

Even though Ladra completely expects a couple more (read: Ben Carson for sure) to drop out in the next month.

Maybe even Jeb! Depends on how he does in South Carolina Saturday and Nevada Feb. 23. Because our former governor really, really doesn’t want to come in fourth in Florida.

A few reminders for those who plan to mail in their ballots. 

• Ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
• Voters must sign inside the red box on the back of the return envelope.
• Signatures must match the signatures on record.
• Oh, and never give your ballot to anyone, unless they have been authorized as a designee under Section 12-14 of the Code of Miami-Dade County. 

“Absentee voting continues to grow in popularity with each election cycle because voters are able to research the candidates and vote from the comfort of their home,” Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Christina White said in a statement.

The department will likely be mailing absentee ballots out every day as voters continue to request them. The deadline to request a ballot for the March 15 primary is 5 p.m. March 9.

Voters can request an absentee ballot on the website, by phone at (305) 499-8444, in writing or in person. Go to www.iamelectionready.org or call 305-499-VOTE (8683) for more information.

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