Rubio Kicks Off 2016 Campaign, Styling Himself Next-Generation Leader

The first-term Republican senator from Florida announced his candidacy during a conference call to donors, saying he is uniquely qualified to represent the future of the GOP.

Rubio later kicked off his campaign at a rally in Miami's Freedom Tower, a kind of Ellis Island for Cuban émigrés in Florida, styling himself as a next-generation leader equipped with ideas for the future, instead of from the past, in contrast to competitors like Republican former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both of whom hail from storied political dynasties.

"Before us now is the opportunity to author the greatest chapter yet in the amazing story of America. We can’t do that by going back to the leaders and ideas of the past," Rubio said. "So that is why tonight, grounded by the lessons of our history but inspired bythe promise of our future, I announced my candidacy for the president of the United States."

He specifically referred to Clinton, who announced her presidential bid Sunday, as a "leader of yesterday." Rubio ticked off a long list of conservative policy proposals in his address, vowing to cut taxes, reduce spending, reduce regulations, promote school choice, repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and "modernize immigration laws."

At 43 years old, Rubio is among the youngest of the major presidential contenders, and he has made the story of how his Cuban-American immigrant parents built a life for themselves in the United States — his father working as a hotel bartender and his mother as a housekeeper — a central part of his personal narrative, themes he referred to throughout his speech.

"My candidacy might seem improbable to some watching from abroad. In many countries, the highest office in the land is reserved for the rich and powerful," he said. "But I live in an exceptional country where even the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege."

Alfonso Aguilar, a former official in the George W. Bush administration who now runs the Latino Partnership out of the American Principles Project, a conservative think tank, said Rubio's campaign is a positive development for a party that has struggled to attract young and minority voters.

"Here we have a young candidate who happens to be a Hispanic son of immigrants," Aguilar said. "I think that actually helps the Republicans show that there’s diversity within the party."

Still, even as he appears able to present a fresh face, Rubio is a traditional conservative on social and economic issues and has adopted a hawkish posture on foreign policy. He gave one of the most detailed defenses of Indiana’s controversial “religious freedom” law earlier this month, opposes same-sex marriage and abortion and has called for a more robust role for the United States in the world, railing against President Barack Obama's efforts to ease tensions with Cuba, Al Jazeera reported.

Whereas other Republicans in the race - Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas - have staked out distinct political identities and courted specific constituencies in the GOP base, how Rubio positions himself in the race for the party's nomination remains a mystery.