After being in local politics, Rubio ran for the Florida House of Representitives and won. Eventually he became the Speaker of the House, an important political position. In 2010 he ran for US Senate. He ran a long shot campaign at first: most people thought that Florida's Governor, Charlie Crist would get the Republican nomination. Rubio won the primary, but Crist entered the race as an independent. In a three way race between himself, Crist, and Democrat Kendrick Meek, Rubio was elected to the Senate in 2010.