Marco Rubio
Marco RubioReuters

Reports on Sunday surfaced that 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney would endorse current presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, but Rubio dismissed those reports as “false”, according to The Hill.

The Huffington Post had reported that Romney would endorse Rubio at some point this week, citing two unidentified Republican sources.

The report added that Romney had been eager to back Rubio for days, but hesitated due to his respect for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the race on Saturday night.

But, speaking to CNN on Sunday, Rubio said The Huffington Post report was “false”, adding, “I have no reason to believe that he’s anywhere near endorsing anyone.”

“We would love to have his endorsement,” he added, according to The Hill. “We would love to have the help of everyone, because we would like to bring the Republican Party together.”

Rubio also said Saturday night’s South Carolina primary, in which he finished second behind Donald Trump, represents a “reset” in the presidential race.

“I think last night was truly the beginning of the real Republican primary,” he said. “We went through the semifinals, and the quarterfinals, and I think you’re now down to a core of probably three candidates who are running full-scale national campaigns.”

“This is where I think the race last night was a reset – in a way that quite frankly I think will be very beneficial to our efforts,” added Rubio.