Gallery: 2/15
Marco Rubio, 43 %
Although Rubio may be third in the horse race polls, he's first in the prediction market—by a lot. Rubio, a father of four and University of Florida alumni, is coming off an exceptionally weak fundraising quarter, of only about $5.7 million, and is facing increased scrutiny from the media and rival candidates about managing his personal money. He's starting to roll out an impressive, albeit small, list of endorsements. He recently added Senator James E. Risch of Idaho to his list and altogether Rubio has received 22 endorsement points since Labor Day, which is the most for any Republican during that time span, according to Five Thirty Eight's endorsement scale. Among candidates who have held elective office, he's also leading the horserace polls already, and no one has been elected president having never held elective office since Dwight Eisenhower. The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio was raised by his father, a bartender, and his mother, a maid. Rubio talked about how fortunate he feels to have moved up the ranks in politics during a speech.
"In many countries, the highest office in the land is reserved for the rich and powerful. 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."
Now Rubio and wife, childhood sweetheart Jeanette Dousdebes, are raising four children of their own. Rubio coaches his sons' football team and the couple is teaching their children to speak Spanish since Rubio is Cuban and Dousdebes is Colombian. (Getty)