Sunday, June 6, 2010

Fla. Senate Candidate Tests Politics, Ethnicity

In this May 18, 2010 photo, Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio speaks to members and guests at the Florida Federation of Republican Women, meeting in Coral Gables, Fla.

MIAMI — At a boutique hotel in Miami's upscale Coral Gables neighborhood, members of a Republican women's group smile and gush as Senate candidate Marco Rubio enters the room. A Spanish-language television reporter approaches with a microphone.

What is his stance on the Arizona immigration law? Does he favor amnesty for undocumented immigrants?

"I don't support amnesty," Rubio says. "I support a legal immigration system."

A Cuban-American lawyer and former state House speaker, the 39-year-old Rubio has captured the attention of national Republicans hoping to attract Hispanic voters, a majority of whom voted for President Barack Obama in 2008.

But it's among Hispanic voters that some of Rubio's conservative positions could prove divisive.