Marco Rubio holds weekend rally, fundraiser in Raleigh

The Florida senator held a late afternoon rally Saturday at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. He also had an evening fundraiser at the home of Raleigh developer John Kane. Rubio arrived after several stops Friday and early Saturday in South Carolina, which holds its GOP preference primary Feb. 20.

He addressed several issues in Raleigh, including ObamaCare, immigration and national security.

Rubio said, if elected, he would repeal each of President Barack Obama's "unconstitutional" executive orders.

"We are not a weak people; we are not a weak nation," Rubio said. "We just have a weak president."

Rubio said the election is about answering the question of what kind of country the U.S. will be moving forward.

"I share the frustration. Our next president needs to be someone that understands these things," he said. "You have to know what you're going to do about it."

"Hillary Clinton doesn’t want to run against me, but I really want to run against her," he said.

Recent polls show Rubio trailing Republican Donald Trump heading into the March 15 state primaries.

Trump attracted thousands to his rally last month at Dorton Arena on the fairgrounds. The Rubio event was set for the smaller Holshouser Building.

"He's really appealing to young voters in the way that he really embraces the American dream, how you can really come up in a society," said Ashlyn Sawyer, a student at North Carolina State. "That's what most college students are looking to do."

Rubio's campaign recently announced support for several state legislative leaders, including State House Speaker Paul Stam and House Majority Leader Mike Hager.