WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 28: U.S. President Barack Obama greets U.S. Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL) (top) before delivering the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on January 28, 2014 in Washington, DC. In his fifth State of the Union address, Obama is expected to emphasize on healthcare, economic fairness and new initiatives designed to stimulate the U.S. economy with bipartisan cooperation. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Marco Rubio’s cup runneth over. And not with water.
Florida’s telegenic junior U.S. senator — a potential contender in the GOP’s 2016 sweepstakes for president — stealthily swooped into Greenwich Tuesday night for a big-ticket fundraiser to support his Reclaim America political action committee.
The $10,000-a-plate affair took place at the $10 million Round Hill estate of financier Len Tannenbaum, who, like Rubio, is of Cuban ancestry, according to multiple sources. Tannenbaum’s 10-acre compound is just a few miles from the Greenwich Polo Club.
The son of Cuban immigrants — his father was a hotel bartender — Rubio was picked to deliver a prime-time keynote address during the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.
Rubio gave the GOP response to President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address, a performance that was universally lampooned by an ill-timed case of dry mouth and Rubio’s awkward reach for a bottle of Poland Spring water off camera.
While the White House aspirations of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have recently taken a hit because of the “Bridgegate” scandal, a resurgent Rubio is gaining favor among a number of Republican benefactors.
Tannebaum, founder of Fifth Street Finance Corp., a Nasdaq-traded firm that lends money to private equity companies, would appear to be one of them.
In 2012, Tannenbaum started his own pro-business, self-proclaimed bipartisan PAC called Keeping America Competitive. He donated $15,000 last March to the state GOP, earning a seat on the dais at the party’s annual fundraising dinner in May.
Last July, in a joint announcement with the state, Tannenbaum revealed he was moving his $2 billion money-lending enterprise from White Plains, N.Y., to Greenwich, lured by $5 million in economic incentives approved by the administration of Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
UPDATE: Chris Meek, who sought the GOP nomination in the 4th Congressional District in 2012, tells Hearst he hosted Rubio this week at his Stamford home and furnished the newspaper with a copy of the invitation. Tannenbaum characterized his role in the event as “hosting” Rubio, according to an invitee.