Republican senator Marco Rubio has declared his interest in running as president on 2016 last Monday, in an event at the Freedom Tower in Miami, Fiscal Times reported.
Rubio is the third Republican candidate who has shown interest in joining the presidential race, after Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
To know more about him, here are some facts about Marco Rubio, as noted by Fiscal Times and other sources.
1. Rubio was born in Miami, Florida to Cuban parents who the latter arrived in the United States in 1956 and became US citizens in 1975, the source revealed.
2. Also, it was mentioned that he got married to an ex-NFL cheerleader and fathered four children, 2 boys and 2 girls.
3. Rubio was Roman Catholic but was baptized as a Mormon. He also attended a Protestant church, Christ Fellowship.
4. In 2013, Rubio called some unwanted attention to himself for pausing to take a sip of water while camera's rolling and delivering a GOP response to the State of the Union Address. "It's the drink of water many people remember best, though," Fiscal Times notes.
5. Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives for eight years, from 2000 to 2008, notes Politifact. Prior to that, he served on the West Miami City Commission for two years.
6. In his college years, he was a student athlete who attended Tarkio College for a year through a football scholarship. According to MRC TV, he used to wear leg braces during his childhood years. So his father had to pretend to be a Miami Dolphin's coach and would call him to wear the braces if he wanted to play for his team.
7. MRC TV also mentioned that Rubio has written his own memoir, titled "An American Son: A Memoir", which talks about his life as the son of immigrants in America.
8. Surprisingly, it was reported that he is also one of the least wealthy U.S. Senators of today. MRC TV says that records show he was listed at number 465 out of 535 among members of the entire Congress and ranked 91st among senators.
9. Since leaving the state of legislature in 2008, Rubio has been teaching Political Science classes at the Florida International University in Miami, reports Politico.
Rubio's announcement made people wonder if he can topple his possible biggest rival by far, Hillary Clinton. Some say, Rubio has the chance. According to Fiscal Times, in a separate report, Rubio's greatest advantage is his undeniable love for the United States. He said that the country "is the most powerful force for good the world has ever known".
Although he has been questioned about his views on President Obama's immigration reforms, considering he is an immigrant himself, Rubio replied to critics in a brief interview with Fox News saying, "If you are serious of moving forward and doing something on immigration that is good for America, realistic and reasonable, the first step has to be is enforcement of our immigration laws."