Sarasota students kept Rubio in race - News - Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Sarasota, FL
Sarasota students kept Rubio in race
It turns out 16 home-schooled students in Sarasota changed Florida's political landscape with a few posterboards.
In May of 2009, everything was going wrong for Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate candidacy. Then-popular Gov. Charlie Crist had entered the race officially and nearly everyone in the Republican Party seemed to be supporting him.
"I was so discouraged," Rubio said in an interview this week to promote his newly published memoir, "An American Son."
"I didn't know how I could possibly win."
But when he stepped into the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce office for a speech to the South Sarasota Republican Club, Rubio was blown away by a group of young people holding signs and encouraging him to keep going.
"They were evidence that there were people out there who were looking for something different in this election," Rubio wrote in the book.
Rubio, who will be back in Sarasota County to sign copies of the book on Sunday, said he had been pressured by national Republicans before that speech to drop out of the race and let Crist walk into the Senate.
Less than a year later, Crist dropped out of the Republican primary, running as an independent against Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek. Rubio easily won and is now mentioned regularly as a potential running mate for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
For the students who greeted him, the day is etched in their memories, too. Gabrielle Doraisamy recalls the excitement of making the signs and wanting to give Rubio an enthusiastic welcome. Only later did she realize the role they may have played in helping him.
"Later that same day after he had left Venice, he sent us a message telling us how much it meant to him that we were there encouraging him because he had been having a very difficult time just prior to him coming," said Doraisamy, who attends State College of Florida.
For Claire Hodgson, who was 15, being part of Rubio's history is an honor.
"Personally, I felt -- and still feel -- that Rubio was my ideal political candidate, not because our views lined up on every issue, but because of how genuine and enthusiastic he seemed about changing the flaws he saw in the system," said Hodgson, now a college student in Arkansas.
Hodgson said she can't wait to pick up a copy of Rubio's new book, knowing of the connection with him.
It's not the only time Southwest Florida played a part in keeping Rubio in the race, according to his book. Later that summer, Rubio wrote, he again considered dropping out, this time before delivering a speech in Port Charlotte. But Rubio said the audience support was again affirming.
"The response overwhelmed me," Rubio said.
Rubio, a Miami Republican, is scheduled to sign copies of his book Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Books-A-Million at Gulf Gate Mall in Sarasota.
Sarasota students kept Rubio in race - News - Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Sarasota, FL
Sarasota students kept Rubio in race
It turns out 16 home-schooled students in Sarasota changed Florida's political landscape with a few posterboards.
In May of 2009, everything was going wrong for Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate candidacy. Then-popular Gov. Charlie Crist had entered the race officially and nearly everyone in the Republican Party seemed to be supporting him.
"I was so discouraged," Rubio said in an interview this week to promote his newly published memoir, "An American Son."
"I didn't know how I could possibly win."
But when he stepped into the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce office for a speech to the South Sarasota Republican Club, Rubio was blown away by a group of young people holding signs and encouraging him to keep going.
"They were evidence that there were people out there who were looking for something different in this election," Rubio wrote in the book.
Rubio, who will be back in Sarasota County to sign copies of the book on Sunday, said he had been pressured by national Republicans before that speech to drop out of the race and let Crist walk into the Senate.
Less than a year later, Crist dropped out of the Republican primary, running as an independent against Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek. Rubio easily won and is now mentioned regularly as a potential running mate for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
For th
e students who greeted him, the day is etched in their memories, too. Gabrielle Doraisamy recalls the excitement of making the signs and wanting to give Rubio an enthusiastic welcome. Only later did she realize the role they may have played in helping him.
"Later that same day after he had left Venice, he sent us a message telling us how much it meant to him that we were there encouraging him because he had been having a very difficult time just prior to him coming," said Doraisamy, who attends State College of Florida.
For Claire Hodgson, who was 15, being part of Rubio's history is an honor.
"Personally, I felt -- and still feel -- that Rubio was my ideal political candidate, not because our views lined up on every issue, but because of how genuine and enthusiastic he seemed about changing the flaws he saw in the system," said Hodgson, now a college student in Arkansas.
Hodgson said she can't wait to pick up a copy of Rubio's new book, knowing of the connection with him.
It's not the only time Southwest Florida played a part in keeping Rubio in the race, according to his book. Later that summer, Rubio wrote, he again considered dropping out, this time before delivering a speech in Port Charlotte. But Rubio said the audience support was again affirming.
"The response overwhelmed me," Rubio said.
Rubio, a Miami Republican, is scheduled to sign copies of his book Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Books-A-Million at Gulf Gate Mall in Sarasota.