Jesse Scheckner
Add U.S. Sen Marco Rubio to a growing list of notable Florida Republicans backing Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera’s bid to be the state party’s second-highest ranking member.
In a statement, Rubio endorsed Marino Cabrera for Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Vice Chair.
“Kevin is a patriot who knows what is at stake in the 2024 elections,” he said. “He has the experience necessary to help lead the party and keep Florida red in November.”
Other new endorsers of Cabrera’s Vice Chair campaign include state Sens. Alexis Calatayud of Miami and Jay Collins of Tampa, as well as state Reps. Mike Caruso of Delray Beach and Spencer Roach of North Fort Myers.
Their nods join others from former President Donald Trump, RPOF Chair Evan Power, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, CFO Jimmy Patronis, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Florida House Speaker-designate Daniel Perez and a passel of elected state and local officials across Florida.
It also comes four days after Lee County GOP Chair Michael Thompson suspended his RPOF Vice Chair campaign, citing Trump’s support of Cabrera, whom he in turn endorsed and called “a battle-tested America First Patriot.”
Cabrera still faces at least one opponent in the Feb. 10 race: Jesse Phillips, a Seminole County State Committeeman who said last week that while he has “tremendous respect” for Cabrera’s political work, he has “heard growing concern about his lack of experience on the State Executive Committee.”
Cabrera won his seat on the Republican State Committee in November, just over one year after winning a race for the Miami-Dade Commission with 61.5% of the vote. He held public office once before as an elected Councilman on a Miami-Dade land-use zoning board.
Before that, he worked as a lobbyist and political operative whose employers included Gov. Jeb Bush, ex-U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, Florida Supreme Court Justice John Couriel, the LIBRE Initiative and Mercury.
Most notably, Cabrera worked as Florida State Director for the Republican National Committee and Trump’s re-election campaign during the 2020 cycle.
