Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio
| Marco Rubio | |
|---|---|
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| United States Senator from Florida |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 Serving with Bill Nelson |
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| Preceded by | George LeMieux |
| Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives | |
| In office January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Allan Bense |
| Succeeded by | Ray Sansom |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 111th district |
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| In office January 25, 2000 – January 2, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Carlos Valdes |
| Succeeded by | Erik Fresen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marco Antonio Rubio May 28, 1971 Miami, Florida |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jeanette Dousdebes; 4 children |
| Alma mater | University of Florida (B.A.) University of Miami (J.D.) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | Senator Marco Rubio |
Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is the junior United States Senator from Florida (2011–present). A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2007–2009).
Born to a family of Cuban exiles, Rubio was raised in Miami, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended Tarkio College and Santa Fe College before graduating from the University of Florida. He earned his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996 while interning for U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. In the late 1990s he served as a City Commissioner for West Miami. Rubio was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, representing the 111th House district. He was elected Speaker in November 2006.
Rubio announced a run for U.S. Senate in May 2009 after incumbent Republican Mel Martinez resigned. Initially trailing by double-digits against the incumbent Republican Governor Charlie Crist, Rubio eventually surpassed him in polling for the Republican nomination. Rubio won the Republican nomination after Crist opted instead for an independent run. In a three-way split against Crist and Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek, Rubio won the general election in November 2010 by a 19-point margin.
Rubio is a proponent of tea party fiscal policies and has been called the "crown prince" of the Tea Party movement.
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Early life
Rubio is the second son and third child of Cuban exiles Mario Rubio (1927–2010) and Oria Garcia (born 1931), and was born in Miami, Florida. His siblings are: Mario (born 1950), Barbara (born 1960) and Veronica (born 1972). Rubio currently attends Christ Fellowship, an evangelical Protestant Church in West Kendall, Fla., where he has attended for the last six years. However, Rubio has been baptized, confirmed, and married in the Catholic Church. Rubio is fluent in Spanish. His father was a bartender and his mother worked as a hotel housekeeper in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rubio lived in Las Vegas from 1979 to 1985, before his family returned to Miami in the summer of 1985.
Education
Rubio attended South Miami Senior High School and graduated in 1989. He then attended Tarkio College for one year on a football scholarship from 1989 to 1990, before enrolling at Santa Fe College. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida in 1993, and his J.D. degree cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996.
Early political career
Before 2000
While studying law, he interned for U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Marco Rubio served as a City Commissioner for West Miami before being elected to the Florida legislature.
Florida legislature (2000–2009)
He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for the 111th district in a special election on January 25, 2000. He has won each of his re-election bids. In November 2006, he was elected Speaker of the Florida State House for the 2006–08 term.
He is the author of the book 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future. This book was compiled from Rubio's travels around the state to gather ideas from citizens. This was done through what Rubio calls "Idearaisers". Many of the issues that he pushed for in his first year as speaker came from ideas in this book. During 2007, Marco Rubio championed a major overhaul of the Florida tax system. He argued it would reduce property taxes and decrease the size of government.
During his tenure serving as Speaker of the House of Florida, Rubio shared his residence with another Florida State Representative, David Rivera. The two men co-owned a home together in Tallahassee, which later fell into foreclosure after deferring months of mortgage payments. This controversy surfaced in June 2010, during Rubio's run for the US Senate.
U.S. Senate
2010 election
On May 5, 2009, Rubio announced on his website that he planned to run for the United States Senate in 2010 for the Republican seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez, who had resigned and been replaced by George LeMieux. Prior to the announcement, he had been meeting with fundraisers and supporters throughout the state. Initially trailing by double-digits against the incumbent Governor of his own party, Charlie Crist, Rubio eventually surpassed Crist in polling for the Republican nomination.
On April 28, 2010, Crist announced he would be running as an independent, effectively ceding the Republican nomination to Rubio. Several of Crist's top fundraisers, as well as Republican leadership, refused to support Crist after Rubio won the Republican nomination for Senate.
On November 2, 2010, Marco Rubio won the senatorial election with 48.9% of the vote to Crist's 29.7% and Democrat Kendrick Meek's 20.1%. On May 20, 2011 Marco Rubio visited Puerto Rico's governor, Luis Fortuño, and made a statement of wanting to "represent the Puerto Ricans" since he already felt he owed those who had voted for him in the Florida election.
Following his victory in the elections, Rubio soon became the subject of unsupported media driven speculation as a potential GOP candidate for the presidential election of 2012. Rubio stated shortly after taking office that he has no interest in running for president or vice president in 2012.
Tenure
Upon taking office, Rubio hired Cesar Conda, former lobbyist and "top domestic policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney during the first two years of the Bush administration" as his Chief of Staff. Conda is "a well-known and highly regarded policy wonk" with experience in both the executive and legislative branches of government. He is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
- Subcommittee on Science and Space
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
- Committee on Foreign Relations
- Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
- Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
- Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection
- Select Committee on Intelligence
- Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Personal life
Rubio married Jeanette Dousdebes, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, in 1997. She is of Colombian descent, and together they have four children named Amanda, Daniella, Anthony, and Dominic. Rubio and his family live in West Miami, Florida. While Rubio still attends Catholic Mass, he has attended and donated to the Christ Fellowship Church in West Kendall, Florida for the past several years. This church, one of the largest in the United States, is an evangelical Protestant church. Some critics have speculated that his attendance at both Catholic and Protestant churches is an attempt to court Hispanic voters.
- ^ a b c "Representative Marco Rubio". Florida House of Representatives. http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4180&SessionId=42.
- ^ "Midterms 2010: Tea Party 'Crown Prince’ Marco Rubio wins". The Telegraph. November 3, 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/8106646/Midterms-2010-Tea-Party-Crown-Prince-Marco-Rubio-wins.html. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ^ Beth Reinhard (September 5, 2010). "Rubio's father dies at 83". Miami Herald. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2010/09/rubios-father-dies-at-83.html.
- ^ http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/01/what-is-marco-rubios-religion/
- ^ a b "What is Marco Rubio's Religion?". Politics Daily. November 2, 2010. http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/01/what-is-marco-rubios-religion/.
- ^ "Who Runs Gov: Washington Post Profile". http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Marco_Rubio.
- ^ "Biography -- About Marco"
- ^ Clark, Lesley (January 5, 2011). "Miami's Marco Rubio becomes new Florida senator". Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/05/2001675/miamis-marco-rubio-becomes-new.html. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
- ^ "Sun Sentinel report on Rubio". Sun-sentinel.com. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/politics/government/marco-rubio-PEPLT007456.topic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ Bender, Michael C. (June 17, 2010). "Palm Beach Post Staff Writer". The Palm Beach Post. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/rubio-faces-foreclosure-on-tally-home-his-campaign-754440.html. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ Beth Reinhard (March 5, 2009). "Marco Rubio quietly registers to run for U.S. Senate". Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/933424.html.
- ^ "January 26, 2010 – Rubio Edges Crist In Florida Gop Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; President Obama Under Water As Voters Disapprove". Quinnipiac University. http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1297.xml?ReleaseID=1417.
- ^ "Rasmussen Reports – Florida Republic Senate primary". http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/florida/election_2010_florida_gop_senate_primary. Retrieved February 27, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Crist to Run as Independent in FL Sen". Liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com. April 28, 2010. http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/28/crist-to-run-as-independent-in-fl-sen-race. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
- ^ Romm, Tony (April 18, 2010). "McConnell: Crist would lose all GOP support if he ran as independent". Thehill.com. http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/92869-mcconnell-crist-would-lose-all-gop-support-if-he-ran-as-independent. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan; Catanese, David (April 17, 2010). "Top Charlie Crist supporters torn over indy bid". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35937.html#ixzz0lOevGjLm. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ^ "Marco Rubio Wins Florida GOP Senate Primary". Huffingtonpost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/marco-rubio-wins-florida-_n_693377.html. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ Post Store (November 3, 2010). "2010 election results show Republicans winning the House, not the Senate". Washingtonpost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207506.html. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ "Republican Senator visits Puerto Rico". El Nuevo Dia. 2010. http://www.elnuevodia.com/senadorrepublicanovisitaafortuno-971808.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ a b http://partyhardpolitics.com/archives/2721
- ^ "President Obama, Marco Rubio face off on tax cuts". The Christian Science Monitor. November 6, 2010. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2010/1106/President-Obama-Marco-Rubio-face-off-on-tax-cuts.
- ^ Goodman, Lee-Anne (November 5, 2010). "Florida’s new senator seen as 'Great Right Hope'". The Toronto STAR. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/886650--florida-s-new-senator-seen-as-great-right-hope.
- ^ "Marco Rubio: I want to be a senator, not president or vice president". The Daily Caller. January 10, 2011. http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/10/marco-rubio-i-want-to-be-a-senator-not-president-or-vice-president/.
- ^ Hayes, Stephen (2011-01-28) Marco Rubio Picks a Chief of Staff: Cesar Conda, Weekly Standard
- ^ Rettig, Jessica (May 4, 2010). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Marco Rubio". U.S. News and World Report. http://politics.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2010/05/04/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-marco-rubio.html.
- ^ "Marco 101". Marco Rubio for US Senate. http://www.marcorubio.com/marco-101/.
- ^ a b Thompson, Damian (November 12, 2010). "Marco Rubio Tries to Still Debate Over Religion". The Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/us-politics/8129826/Marco-Rubio-tries-to-still-debate-over-his-religion.html.
- ^ "Rubio's income grew with his political clout, tax records show". Miami Herald. May 22, 2010. http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/rubios-income-grew-with-his-political-clout-tax-records-show/1096766.
- ^ "Top 100 Largest Churches". Sermoncentral.com. http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=Top-100-Largest-Churches.
- ^ Oppenheimer, Mark (November 27, 2010). "Marco Rubio: Catholic or Protestant?". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/27/us/27beliefs.html.
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George LeMieux |
United States Senator (Class 3) from Florida January 3, 2011 – present Served alongside: Bill Nelson |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by John Hoeven R-North Dakota |
United States Senators by seniority 94th |
Succeeded by Ron Johnson R-Wisconsin |
| Florida House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Carlos Valdes |
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 111th district 2000–2009 |
Succeeded by Erik Fresen |
| Preceded by Allan Bense |
Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives 2007–2009 |
Succeeded by Ray Sansom |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Mel Martinez |
Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Florida (Class 3) 2010 |
Succeeded by Current |
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