Born in Miami, Florida in 1971, Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants. After earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in 1993, he went to the University of Miami for his law degree.
Rubio began his life in public service in 1998 by winning a seat on the West Miami City Commission. Before long, he made his ascent into state politics. Rubio was victorious in his bid for the Florida House of Representatives in 1999. He quickly established himself as a political force with the legislature, becoming the majority leader in 2003 and then speaker of the House three years later.
As the speaker, Rubio launched an ambitious campaign to generate ways to improve and reform the state government. He held a series of gatherings around the state to hear and collect ideas from Florida residents. Culling from these suggestions, Rubio put together a proposal called "100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future." He presented the proposal to the legislature and more than half of these ideas became laws. One of these reforms, however, didn't survive the political process. The fiscally conservative Rubio had lobbied for property tax reforms and for instituting a sales tax increase.
In 2009, Rubio surprised many in Florida politics by taking on former Florida governor and Republican Charlie Crist for the Senate seat vacated by Mel Martinez. Analysts initially viewed Rubio as the underdog, and he trailed the better-known Crist in the polls at first. But the well-spoken young politician hammered at Crist for his ties to President Barack Obama, and emphasized the state's dire need for economic change. "I'm in this race to win. Many of the things that make America unique are threatened by politicians in Washington, D.C. We're going to make irreversible decisions over the next four to six years. I want to be a part of correcting the course," he said during his campaign.
Late in the campaign, Rubio found himself retracting some of his statements about his family background. He had initially stated that his parents fled Cuba during the revolution. However, they had actually left before Fidel Castro took power. This information had little impact on his campaign. Voters seemed more taken with his pledges to curb federal spending.
With the help of Tea Party supporters, the reform-minded Rubio managed to win an impressive victory in November 2010. He defeated both Crist, who ran as an independent, and Democratic opponent Kendrick Meek. Since taking office in 2011, Rubio has become a member of several legislative committees, including the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; and the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Less than a year after taking office, Rubio became the subject of intense political speculation. His name has been bandied about as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney in his 2012 bid for the presidency. Though Rubio has denied that he had any interest in the vice-presidential nomination, political analysts and members of the Republican Party thought he would have a good choice for the vice-presidential spot due to his representation of an important state in the national election and likely support from the Latino community.
Instead of joining the Romney campaign, Rubio focused on his work in the Senate. He has worked on immigration reform, joining a bipartisan effort to introduce the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. Rubio has also been an outspoken pro-life advocate. He introduced legislation in January 2015 to allow states to "enforce their parental notification and consent laws" when a minor travels to another state for an abortion, according to Rubio's official website.
http://www.biography.com/people/marco-rubio-20840041#political-career
