Hasner exploring Senate run in race defined by Rubio

Former Florida House majority leader Adam Hasner announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a U.S. Senate run  Monday during a broadcast of the conservative Mark Levin show.

Hasner said he and Levin had something in common: They both supported Marco Rubio before the weight of the Republican establishment was behind him. Like Rubio, he said he plans to drive around the state, just he and his Garmin GPS, talking to conservative activists.

Hasner’s Twitter bio notes that he was “picked by Marco Rubio to serve as Republican Majority Leader in Florida.”

Describing himself as an “unapologetic conservative,” he pointed to his support for a national push for a balanced budget amendment.

When Hasner said he was 41 years old, Levin said, “I like this young crop of conservatives like you who are articulate, who have experience under their belt, and who are on a mission to save this country.”

Hasner took a few subtle digs at other potential primary contenders. He said wasn’t banking on raising a lot of “special interest money,” perhaps a jab Senate President and fundraising powerhouse Mike Haridopolos (who has invoked Rubio’s name in his own pitches to possible donors). He described George LeMieux as “the Charlie Crist-appointed former senator.”

“I don’t need to reinvent myself as a conservative,” he said.