Marco Rubio Fast Facts

Personal: Birth date: May 28, 1971

Birth place: Miami, Florida

Birth name: Marco Antonio Rubio

Father: Mario Rubio, a bartender

Mother: Oriales García Rubio

Marriage: Jeanette (Dousdebes) Rubio (1998-present)

Children: Amanda Loren, Daniella, Anthony, Dominick

Education: Attended Tarkio College in Missouri, 1989-1990; attended Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, 1990-1991; University of Florida, political science, B.S., 1993; University of Miami, J.D., cum laude, 1996.

Religion: Roman Catholic

Other Facts: He is the son of Cuban immigrants who came to the United States in 1956.

Preparing for his term as speaker of the House in the Florida legislature, he wrote the book, "100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future."

Has taught political science classes at Florida International University.

Timeline: 1991 - Interns with US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen while in law school at the University of Miami.

1998-2000 - City Commissioner of West Miami.

January 25, 2000 - Elected to the Florida House of Representatives.

2000-2008 - Member of the Florida House of Representatives.

2004-December 2008 - Attorney with the real estate and land use practice groups of Broad and Cassel in Miami.

November 2006-November 2008 - Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Rubio is the first Cuban-American to hold the position.

November 2, 2010 - Elected as a Republican to the US Senate.

2011 - Forms the Reclaim America PAC.

2012 - Rubio is named to the Time 100, the magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people.

April 19, 2012 - Shares a glimpse of his idea of an alternative to the Democratic-backed DREAM Act that would appeal to Republicans. While not going into specifics, Rubio says his plan would grant legal status - not citizenship - for those who want to study in the United States.

June 2012 - Rubio's book, "An American Son: A Memoir," is published.

February 12, 2013 - Delivers the Republican response in both English and Spanish to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. It is the first bilingual response to the address delivered by the same person.

December 17, 2014 - Responds to Obama's move to loosen the US embargo on Cuba. Rubio says he will block any potential US ambassador to Cuba.

January 23, 2015 - CNN confirms that Rubio is moving forward with preparations for a potential 2016 presidential bid. This includes fundraising and adding finance director Anna Rogers to his PAC.

April 13, 2015 - During an appearance at Miami's Freedom Tower, Rubio announces he is entering the 2016 race for president.

March 15, 2016 - Rubio suspends his presidential campaign after losing the Florida primary.

June 22, 2016 - Rubio announces that he will seek re-election to the Senate.

November 8, 2016 - Wins re-election to the US Senate.

February 21, 2018 - Facing an outraged constituent audience of school shooting survivors a week after the deadly Parkland school shooting, Rubio is the lone Republican lawmaker to attend CNN's town hall. Rubio says he would support legislation to prevent an 18-year-old from buying a rifle and that he is reconsidering his support for large-capacity magazines.