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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Is Marco Rubio the New Face of the Old GOP?

    In 1998, Marco Rubio was a city commissioner in West Miami. In 2000, he was elected to Florida's House of Representatives. Just six years after that, he became the second youngest House Speaker ever — and the first Cuban-American to hold that position.

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    By Warren Olney • Feb 24, 2016 • 1 min read

    In 1998, Marco Rubio was a city commissioner in West Miami. In 2000, he was elected to Florida's House of Representatives. Just six years after that, he became the second youngest House Speaker ever — and the first Cuban-American to hold that position. Now he's a 44-year-old Senator in his first term who insists he's fully prepared for the White House. Some Republicans call him their party's Obama — and they don't mean it kindly. Others call him their best chance of heading off Donald Trump. We hear about the meteoric rise of a Cuban-American in Florida, his brief term in Washington and what happened between him and Jeb Bush.

    In 1996, Marco Rubio worked on Bob Dole's presidential bid in Miami-Dade County.

    Photo: Marco Rubio campaign

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Paul von Zielbauer

      Co-founder of Geezer magazine, former producer for To the Point and Which Way LA?; former reporter for the New York Times

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

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      Susan MacManus

      University of South Florida

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      Marc Caputo

      Politico

    • KCRW placeholder

      Manuel Roig-Franzia

      writer for the Washington Post

      NewsNationalPolitics
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