Cliff Campaigners? Marco Rubio, Rand Paul Say 'No' to Deal

Who voted "no" on the "fiscal-cliff" deal this morning? Two Republicans who could run in 2016, that's who.

The Senate passed its last-minute "fiscal-cliff" deal 89-8 at 1:39 a.m. today and of the eight fiscal naysayers, five are Republicans, two of them purported White House contenders.

The bill was finalized with Republicans, and sold to Democrats, by one who could maybe run for president in 2016 (big maybe): Vice President Joe Biden.

But two names might stick out, among the five Republicans who opposed it. Sen. Marco Rubio is widely considered to have a decent shot at the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and, as Roll Call's Jonathan Strong aptly tweeted, his "no" vote could put some pressure on another potential White House aspirant, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who will likely have to vote on this deal in the next couple days. Big votes like this one are the kind that come up in presidential primary debates; last time around, the 2011 debt-limit vote was a topic. Rubio explained in a news release after the vote that he appreciated the hard work that went into the deal, but "rapid economic growth and spending reforms are the only way out of the real fiscal cliff our nation is facing," and those "will be made more difficult" by this bill. His full statement:

"I appreciate all the hard work that went into avoiding the so-called 'fiscal cliff'… Nevertheless, I cannot support the arrangement they have arrived at. Rapid economic growth and spending reforms are the only way out of the real fiscal cliff our nation is facing.

"Thousands of small businesses, not just the wealthy, will now be forced to decide how they'll pay this new tax and, chances are, they'll do it by firing employees, cutting back their hours and benefits, or postponing the new hire they were looking to make. And to make matters worse, it does nothing to bring our dangerous debt under control.

Perhaps an unsurprising name on the list was Sen. Rand Paul, never shy about bucking the policies of his fellow Kentuckian, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. A Rand Paul 2016 presidential run has also been the subject of speculation, albeit more quietly than Rubio's taken-for-granted status as a GOP star.

Another "no" voter, Utah. Sen. Mike Lee, is a tea-party star in his own right, having ousted longtime GOP Sen. Bob Bennett with help from the Club for Growth at Utah's 2010 nominating convention, one of the early upsets that ginned up enthusiasm and signaled the 2010 primary bum rush on GOP incumbents.