Saturday, July 7, 2012

A Heartbeat Away? The Money-and-Politics Veepstakes: Marco Rubio

Few politicians have risen to soaring political heights as quickly as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) . In the span of just two years -- and with a little help from the Tea Party -- Rubio has gone from a relatively unknown state representative to a potential vice presidential candidate. Although some have reported that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not vetting Rubio, the campaign insists they are considering the 41-year-old Florida native for the VP slot. 

Just because he's new to the ranks of the federal government, doesn't mean that Rubio hasn't made his mark in politics. The Florida Republican collected campaign contributions in the tens-of-millions range during his first federal campaign, and has close  ties with many influential GOP establishment figures. 

All of this and more makes him an attractive candidate for Mitt Romney's vice presidential ticket. It's also important information for voters to know: If Rubio is in fact destined to be just a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, voters may want to explore in detail what campaign finance relationships he has made along the way. And we're here to help. 

Campaign Contributions

Rubio showed himself to be a bona fide fundraiser during his first federal-level campaign in 2010, raking in over $21.7 million in campaign contributions from a variety of sources. By far, his top donor was the conservative Club for Growth, which gave nearly $354,000 to his campaign, according to Center for Responsive Politics research. That figure nearly triples the amount his second-largest donor, Elliot Management, contributed. Employees at Elliot provided over $121,000 in campaign donations. Rubio also received a six-figure sum from Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) influential leadership PAC, Senate Conservatives Fund, which helped boost a number of conservative candidates during the 2010 midterms. 

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