This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rep. Mia Love has joined the list of Utah Republicans endorsing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for the GOP presidential nomination.
In a brief Fox News appearance Thursday, Love, a widely known freshman lawmaker, said "I realized my story is so similar to his. He has a positive agenda going forward."
Rubio's parents immigrated to Florida from Cuba in the late 1950s, shortly before a revolution vaulted Fidel Castro into power. He was born in 1971 in Miami.
Love's parents fled the violence in Haiti and joined relatives in New York City, where the congresswoman was born.
She also mentioned Rubio's mid-October rally in Salt Lake City as a reason for her endorsement.
"He didn't treat Utah as a flyover state. I saw him inspire people," said Love, who participated in a roundtable discussion with Rubio and a rally of 300 people at the Utah State Fairpark.
Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, state House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox have previously announced their support for Rubio, who is giving up his Senate seat to run for the 2016 nomination. Stewart, Hughes and former Utah Republican Party Chairman Stan Lockhart all are co-chairmen of the Utah Rubio campaign.
Rubio is a former Mormon who converted to the faith when his family lived in Nevada in his youth. He later returned to the Catholic Church.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the senior member of Utah's congressional delegation, has endorsed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.