The Republican National Convention is around the corner, and with it, Donald Trump's formal acceptance of his party's nomination for the third time. But as the highly-anticipated event rapidly approaches, one question looms large— who will Trump choose as his running mate?
That question has been a major focal point among the press and the electorate alike, with a particular name constantly making headlines: Marco Rubio.
If the Republican Senator in Florida is effectively elected to run alongside Trump, he would be the first Latino whose name will appear on a major party ticket. He also has a long, and somewhat complicated relationship with Trump, which experts have pointed out could be a point of contention if their partnership does bloom.
But being the son of Cuban immigrants, the young Senator could help Trump appeal to fellow Latinos, which has been one of his goals along the campaign trail.
As the deadline to formally announce the vice presidential candidate approaches, here's what else you should know about Marco Rubio.
The son of Cuban immigrants and the youngest person to enter the presidential race
Rubio grew up in a working-class family in Miami, Florida, which he has made a focal point of his political career. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in political science and went on to study law at the University of Miami Law School.
He started his career as an intern for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen while studying law, and eventually became a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 2000. He became a Senator for Florida in 2011, where he has served ever since.
Since he came into mainstream politics, Rubio has been seen as a rising star that could diversify the party's electorate. He launched his presidential bid in April 2015 and became the youngest person to enter the race at 43 years old.
At the time, he told George Stephanopoulos that U.S. politics needed a generational change.
"I think this country's at a generational moment where it needs to decide not what party it wants in charge but what kind of country are we going to want to be moving forward," he said.
Rubio's stances on key issues of the 2024 presidential election
Trump has made immigration a central issue to his campaign, vowing to enact programs that would not only essentially shut down the border, but also ensue mass deportations across the country. Rubio has said he sides with Trump in these ideas, calling for increased border control and security.
Another issue central to these elections is abortion, which the president has tried to step aside from after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Florida senator has maintained a strict pro-life ideology throughout his career. When questioned by CBS News in August 2022 over whether he would favor a complete ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking, he said he personally favored such a ban but realized that was a minority position.
In an interview last month, he appeared to dodge a question over his thoughts on Trump's description of Florida's six-week abortion ban as a "terrible thing, a terrible mistake."
"Well again, I am pro-life, so I support laws that save unborn human life. Other people have different opinions on what our law should be," Rubio said. "That law that you're referring to was passed by elected legislators in the state of Florida— House members that have to go back to their voters every two years, senators that have to go back every four years."
Rubio and Trump are coming together after a rocky relationship
The two Republicans ran for president in 2016, a race that Trump would eventually win. In that contest, they exchanged heated insults, including some thinly veiled shots at each other's manhood. Trump nicknamed Rubio "Little Marco" during that campaign, and Rubio fired back saying that Trump had "small hands."
Their relationship improved as Rubio backed Trump's White House agenda and endorsed him right before January's Iowa caucuses this year.
Both Trump and Rubio claim residency in Florida, which could be an issue since the 12th Amendment to the Constitution states that presidential and vice presidential candidates running on the same ticket "shall not be an inhabitant of the same states with themselves."
So, if Trump selected Rubio as his running mate, electors from Florida could not vote for both Trump and Rubio under the Amendment. But it would be perfectly fine for electors from the other 49 states to vote for both.
"So, it is not prohibited to have both candidates from the same state; it just sacrifices their chances of winning a full slate of electoral votes from their home state," Thomas Berry, a legal fellow at the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and the editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review, told ABC News. That would change if one of them changed their residence ahead of the voting.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
