Marco Rubio booed during festival in Orlando

Marco Rubio's once-bright political future may be dimming

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published October 26, 2016 3:34PM (EDT)

 (AP)
(AP)

In the latest sign that Sen. Marco Rubio’s once-bright political future has started to dim, there’s this: The Florida Republican was booed off the stage during a Puerto Rican-themed festival.

The booing occurred when Rubio, the Cuban-American son of refugees, was giving a speech at Calle Orange, an event that’s a huge draw for the Hispanic and Latino community.

"This is an annual event that draws thousands of people, including many Democrats,” explained Olivia Perez-Cubas, a spokeswoman for the Rubio campaign.

“While there were some boos in the crowds, overall the reception Marco received at Calle Orange was very positive. In fact, Rubio supporters standing near the stage did not hear any boos while he was speaking. Marco kept his remarks short at the request of the hosts since it was not intended to be a political gathering.”

The anti-Rubio booing occurred in the same week that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee decided to pull its funding from the Florida Senate race, instead focusing on more competitive contests in North Carolina, Missouri, and Indiana. The decision was criticized by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Florida’s other Senator, Bill Nelson.

President Obama toured Florida last week to promote Rubio’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Patrick Murphy.


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

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