Florida Sen. Marco Rubio gestures as he speaks to supporters as he announces that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination, during a rally at the Freedom Tower, Monday, April 13, 2015, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Giving the keynote at the Connecticut GOP’s marquee fundraiser is becoming a rite of passage for running for president.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is the latest presidential contender to commit to the Prescott Bush Awards Dinner, GOP leaders confirmed Monday to Hearst Connecticut Media.
This year’s installment of the event, which is named for the late Bush family patriarch Prescott Bush Sr. and could draw up to 800 Republicans from across the state, will be held June 4 at the Crown Plaza Stamford.
Rubio, 43, follows fellow Floridian and former Gov. Jeb Bush (2014) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (2013) as the event’s headliner. The son of Cuban immigrants and first-term senator, Rubio declared his candidacy for president April 13.
“Senator Rubio is a dynamic leader with a record of accomplishment, and is an articulate advocate for free market, limited government policies,” said Jerry Labriola Jr., the state Republican chairman.
Rubio was considered a safer choice than some of the GOP’s other more conservative or libertarian standard bearers such as U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., according to several people familiar with the planning of the event.
Tickets to the event start at $199 per person, but will increase to $250 a head after May 1. There is a $2,500 price tier for a photo with Rubio and a $5,000 tier for a photo and priority seating.