Sen. Marco Rubio is looking to use the April 13 announcement about his 2016 plans to pad his list of Florida supporters.
Tickets to the Miami event — likely the Republican’s presidential kickoff — are available in exchange for email and other contact information, as well as a small fee: $3.05. The ticket price comes from Miami’s 305 telephone area code. Rubio confirmed in an interview on Monday that he would reveal his 2016 plans in mid-April in his hometown of Miami, but declined to reveal an exact location.
However, the Miami Herald has reported that Rubio is considering holding the event at Freedom Tower in downtown Miami. The venue would fit Rubio’s persona and the political message that will serve of the theme of his White House campaign once he officially announces. The senator says regularly that he is determined to preserve America as the beacon of hope and freedom to people around the world — a drive fueled by his parents’ decision to leave Cuba for the U.S. in search of a better life.
As the Herald reported on Saturday: “Completed in 1925, the Mediterranean-style building on Biscayne Boulevard once housed the now-defunct Miami News before it moved in 1957. After Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, the U.S. government used the tower to process and assist refugees fleeing the Communist dictatorship.”
Former Gov. Jeb Bush, the other Florida Republican eyeing the 2016 presidential contest, told talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Monday that no announcement was imminent from him. “I’m going to ponder it for awhile,” he said.
Meanwhile, another Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, launched his presidential bid on March 23, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is moving ahead with his White House campaign on April 7.
