Rubio, Other GOP Candidates, Suffered From Early Russian Election Meddling, Expert Tells Lawmakers

Rubio, Other GOP Candidates, Suffered From Early Russian Election Meddling, Expert Tells Lawmakers: Republican Russia hawks, including Florida senator Marco Rubio, suffered from the Kremlin's early attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election, an expert told lawmakers Thursday.
The Kremlin's election-meddling campaign ramped up in August 2015 and featured methods like hacking, leaks, and information warfare, Clint Watts, a former FBI special agent, told the Senate Intelligence Committee. Watts testified during the panel's first hearing of its probe into Russian election interference. Those measures adversely affected several GOP candidates, Watts said.
[Russian active measures] were in full swing during both the Republican and Democratic primary season and may have helped sink the hopes of candidates more hostile to Russian interests long before the field narrowed, Watts said. Senator Rubio, in my opinion, you anecdotally suffered from these efforts.
Rubio, a leading voice in the Senate for cracking down on Russian aggression, looked up at Watts and appeared taken aback.