Rubio, Marco (1971-…), became a United States senator in 2011. Rubio, a Republican, represents Florida. Prior to his election to the Senate, Rubio had served in the Florida House of Representatives.
Rubio was born in Miami on May 28, 1971. His parents had come to Florida from Cuba. Rubio attended Tarkio College in Missouri and Santa Fe Community College (now Santa Fe College) in Gainesville, Florida, before graduating from the University of Florida in 1993. He received a law degree from the University of Miami in 1996. After graduation, Rubio practiced law and served as a city commissioner in West Miami.
In 1999, Rubio won election to the Florida House of Representatives. He served from 2000 to 2008. From 2006 to 2008, Rubio served as speaker of the House. As a state legislator, Rubio worked to lower taxes, promote smaller government, and reform educational practices. After serving in the state House, Rubio worked as a lawyer and as a visiting professor at Florida International University. In 2010, Rubio won election to the United States Senate. He took office in 2011. Rubio’s books include An American Son: A Memoir (2012) and American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone (2015).
As a senator, Rubio has served on the committees of Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Foreign Relations; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship; as well as on the Select Committee on Intelligence. He became known for his attempts to forge a bipartisan consensus (general agreement) on immigration reform. In April 2015, Rubio began a campaign for the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 2016. In March 2016, Rubio suspended his campaign for the presidential nomination while trailing businessman Donald J. Trump and fellow Senator Ted Cruz in the race for delegates.
In 2015, when Rubio launched his presidential campaign, he declared that he would not seek reelection to the Senate in 2016. In June 2016, however, Rubio announced that he had changed his mind and would campaign to retain his Senate seat. In November, Rubio defeated Democrat Patrick Murphy to win reelection to the Senate. Rubio won reelection again in 2022.
