Marco Rubio goes on air in first Spanish-language ad of the cycle

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is releasing his first Spanish-language ad of the 2022 election cycle.

The 30-second spot focuses on the Senator’s response when Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and his role in crafting the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will run on television in the Orlando area, according to the Rubio campaign.

The ad, entitled “Logró,” begins with a weather forecast graphic of the storm as it struck Puerto Rico in 2017. A female narrator in Spanish describes the urgency with which Florida’s Senator treated the disaster.

“When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, we had a voice in the Senate: Marco Rubio,” the narrator says in Spanish. “Marco delivered unprecedented resources to rebuild the island and helped millions of affected families when they came to Florida.”

Amid images of the aftermath on the island, the ad intersplices footage of Rubio speaking with Spanish-language news outlets including CNN en Español about the devastation and the need for a federal response.

The ad then segues to pandemic response.

“During the pandemic, Marco created the program that saved jobs that would have been lost, and protected small businesses about to close,” the ad states in Spanish.

That references the PPP bill that Rubio helped to craft, an economic rescue program the two-term Senator has cited frequently during his re-election campaign.

The ad drills in a message that the Cuban American Senator speaks for Florida’s Spanish-speaking constituents and all Floridians.

“Marco Rubio, our voice who gets things done for us,” the narrator states in a closing message.

Rubio faces Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings, who formally won the Democratic nomination for Senate in August. She has also courted Hispanic voters as she seeks to unseat Rubio.

That latest spot, though, marks the first time this election cycle a candidate has gone on TV with a Spanish-language ad.

Rubio’s voice only sounds for a moment in the ad, but he closes the video with the Senator speaking in Spanish: “Soy Marco Rubio y apruebo este mensaje.” That’s a phrase in Spanish that translates to one well-known to political observers in the U.S.: “I am Marco Rubio and I approve this message.”