Because, well, he needs them:

Rubio reconnects with tea party activists

Sen. Marco Rubio is renewing his outreach to tea party supporters and his advocacy for GOP causes as he struggles to repair his image as a conservative standard-bearer.

The shift comes after the potential 2016 presidential candidate pushed the Senate to approve an immigration overhaul bill that’s been panned by some on the right who could be crucial to his future.

Rubio joined about 50 conservative activists and other lawmakers Tuesday at a meeting of the Senate’s tea party caucus, putting him in a room with representatives of grassroots activists who helped fuel his unlikely Senate victory in 2010.

The Florida senator, considered a formidable presidential candidate in 2016 if he seeks the White House, spent months advocating for a comprehensive immigration reform proposal but has been largely absent from lobbying efforts since the process moved to the House. Instead, he has returned to conservative causes he has supported in the past, highlighting his opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care law by pushing for an elimination of its funding, backing a measure to place more restrictions on U.S. funding of the United Nations and opposing the White House’s choice to lead the Labor Department.

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