Looks like Sen. Marco Rubio could be moving on up.

And that could have a big impact on the clean-water cause.

As first reported last weekend, President-Elect Donald Trump is set to nominate Rubio Secretary of State.  If so — who will replace him?

Gov. Ron DeSantis gets to make that call; he’ll appoint a replacement to serve until the seat comes up for re-election in 2026.

CBS News speculates that DeSantis could appoint his Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, to the seat; he could appoint Florida Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nunez.

Or DeSantis could swing a deal with Nunez to step down and make her Governor — and then she appoints DeSantis.

If DeSantis winds up in the seat, it could be an improvement over Rubio from a clean-water perspective. Rubio has long had a “cozy” relationship with the Fanjul family, which owns sugar giant Florida Crystals, and has defended the Farm Bill’s generous Sugar Program as a matter of “national security.”

DeSantis by contrast initially tussled with Big Sugar and has eschewed campaign contributions from the industry directly (although as our “Dirty Money Project” documents, he’s taken plenty of “back door” sugar money via “polluter PACs).

DeSantis has also backed record state funding for Everglades restoration and presumably would advocate for the same as a Senator.

Other names potentially in the mix: Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis; even First Lady Casey DeSantis. There are surely others.

But who among them has a legitimate commitment to cleaner water and Everglades restoration? Florida’s iconic waterways are in trouble; we need water warriors in the nation’s capital AND here at home.

We’re curious as to your thoughts on who the best replacement for Rubio would be — someone who’ll fight for us, not Big Sugar; someone who understands that continuing to pollute Florida’s waters is a death knell not just for those waterways, but for Florida’s economy itself.