Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio | |
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Taking office January 3, 2011 | |
Succeeding | George LeMieux |
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In office January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Allan Bense |
Succeeded by | Ray Sansom |
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 111th district | |
In office January 25, 2000 – January 2, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Carlos Valdes |
Succeeded by | Erik Fresen |
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Born | May 28, 1971 Miami, Florida |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Jeanette Dousdebes; 4 children |
Profession | Lawyer |
Religion | Catholic[1] |
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 on January 25, 2000, from the 111th district.
Contents[show] |
[edit] Early life
Rubio is the second son and third child of Cuban exiles Mario Rubio (1927–2010)[3] 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 identifies himself as Catholic having been baptized, confirmed, and married in the Catholic Church, [1] [4] [5] 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.[edit] 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, and then the University of Florida. He earned his B.S. degree in political science from the University of Florida in 1993, and his J.D. degree cum laude from the University of Miami in 1996.While studying law, he interned for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.[citation needed]
[edit] 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. He has won each of his re-election bids.[6] 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.[citation needed]
[edit] 2010 U.S. Senate campaign
On April 28, 2010, Crist announced he would be running as an independent, effectively ceding the Republican nomination to Rubio.[10] Several of Crist's top fundraisers, as well as Republican leadership, refused[11][12] to support Crist after Rubio won the Republican nomination for Senate.[13]
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%.[14]
[edit] Presidential election 2012
As did a number of other successful Republican candidates in the 2010 mid term election nationwide, Rubio soon became the subject of otherwise unsupported media driven speculation as a potential GOP candidate for the presidential election of 2012. [15] [16][edit] 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.[17] Rubio and his family live in West Miami, Florida.[1][18] While Rubio regularly attends Catholic Mass,[19] he has also attended and donated to the Christ Fellowship Church in West Kendall, Florida since 2004.[4][20][21] This church, one of the largest in the United States,[22] "describes itself as 'non-denominational' but is affiliated to the Southern Baptist Convention".[19] Some observers have speculated that his attendance at both Catholic and Protestant churches despite their incompatible theologies is an attempt to court Hispanic voters, some of whom have embraced Protestantism as against a more established tendency among Hispanics to adhere to Catholicism.[23][edit] References
- ^ a b c "Representative Marco Rubio." Florida House of Representatives.
- ^ "Divided Congress on tap as GOP seizes House - Politics - Decision 2010 - msnbc.com". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39962482/ns/politics-decision_2010/. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
- ^ Rubio's father dies at 83, Beth Reinhard, Miami Herald, September 5, 2010
- ^ a b "What is Marco Rubio's Religion?" Politics Daily, Nov. 2, 2010 available at http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/01/what-is-marco-rubios-religion/
- ^ Who Runs Gov/ Washington Post Profile. Available at http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Marco_Rubio
- ^ "''Sun Sentinel report on Rubio". Sun-sentinel.com. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/politics/government/marco-rubio-PEPLT007456.topic. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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 2010-02-27.[dead link]
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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 2010-11-03.
- ^ Post Store. "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 2010-11-03.
- ^ 'President Obama, Marco Rubio face off on tax cuts The Christian Science Monitor, November 6, 2010
- ^ Florida’s new senator seen as ‘Great Right Hope’ The Toronto STAR (CP) November 5, 2010
- ^ Rettig, Jessica. "10 Things You Didn't Know About Marco Rubio." U.S. News and World Report. 2010-05-04.
- ^ "Marco 101." Marco Rubio for US Senate.
- ^ a b Thompson, Damian. "Marco Rubio Tries to Still Debate Over Religion", The Telegraph, Nov. 12, 2010
- ^ Miami Herald, 22 May 2010, Rubio's income grew with his political clout, tax records show
- ^ http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100062105/marco-rubio-the-catholic-senator-elect-from-florida-attends-and-donates-thousands-to-a-hardline-protestant-church/
- ^ http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=Top-100-Largest-Churches
- ^ Mark Oppenheimer, "Marco Rubio: Catholic or Protestant?", New York Times, 27 November 2010
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marco Rubio |
- Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate official campaign site
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
United States Senate | ||
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Preceded by George LeMieux | United States Senator-elect (Class 3) from Florida January 3, 2011 Served alongside: Bill Nelson | Succeeded by Incumbent |
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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