Sunday, October 24, 2010

Marco Antonio Rubio

Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer. Rubio was the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives during the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions. He was first elected to the Florida House as a Republican on January 25, 2000, from the 111th district. He is the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by George LeMieux.

Marco Antonio Rubio
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Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
In office
January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2009
Preceded by Allan Bense
Succeeded by Ray Sansom

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Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 111th district
In office
January 25, 2001 – January 2, 2009

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Born May 28, 1971 (1971-05-28) (age 39)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Jeanette Dousdebes; 4 children
Profession Lawyer
Religion Roman Catholic


Contents
1 Early life, education and career
2 Political career
3 2010 U.S. Senate campaign
4 Personal life
5 References
6 External links

Early life, education and career
Rubio is the second son and third child of Mario Rubio (1927–2010)[1] and Oria Garcia (born 1931), Cuban exiles and was born in Miami, Florida. His siblings are: Mario (born 1950), Barbara (born 1960) and Veronica (born 1972). He is a Roman Catholic and 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. 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 Community College and the University of Florida. He earned his B.S. in political science from the University of Florida in 1993 and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami in 1996. While studying law, he interned for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.[citation needed]

Political career
Marco Rubio served as a City Commissioner for West Miami before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives for the 111th District in a special election on January 25, 2000 and won each of his re-election bids.[2] In November 2006, he was elected Speaker of the Florida State House for the 2006-08 term.

He is the author of 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future. The 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.[citation needed]

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

Rubio speaking at CPAC in February 2010.Main article: United States Senate election in Florida, 2010
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 has since resigned and been replaced by George LeMieux. Prior to the announcement, he had been meeting with fundraisers and supporters throughout the state.[3] 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.[4][5]

Partly due to slumping Republican support, on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, Crist announced he would be running as an independent, effectively ceding the Republican nomination to Rubio.[6] Several of Crist's top fundraisers as well as Republican leadership refused[7][8] to support Crist after Rubio won the Republican nomination for Senate.[9]

Rubio leads in aggregate general election polling to date.[10]

Personal life
Rubio is married to Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader (1997) of Colombian descent, and they have four children. Rubio and his family live in West Miami, Florida.[citation needed]

References
1.^ Rubio's father dies at 83, Beth Reinhard, Miami Herald, September 5, 2010
2.^ Sun Sentinel report on Rubio
3.^ 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.
4.^ Quinnipiac poll results
5.^ "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 2010-02-27. [dead link]
6.^ "Crist to Run as Independent in FL Sen RaceLiveshots". 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 2010-07-10.
7.^ Romm, Tony (2010-04-18). "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 2010-07-10.
8.^ 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.
9.^ Marco Rubio Wins Florida GOP Senate Primary
10.^ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/senate/2010_florida_senate_race.html
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