Florida Sen. Rubio plans Las Vegas stop on book tour

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio will bring his new “American Dreams” book tour to Las Vegas on Feb. 18, visiting the city where he grew up for half a dozen years as he considers a 2016 run for president.

Rubio, R-Fla., lived in Las Vegas from 1979, when he was eight years old, until 1985 when his family moved back to Florida, which he has represented in the Senate since 2011.

Nevada is one of four early-voting battleground states important to win for any White House hopeful. Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney twice won the GOP caucus in Nevada in 2008 and 2012.

“Senator Rubio has very good childhood memories from Vegas, and has really enjoyed his last couple visits,” Rubio spokesman Alex Conant said Monday. “He looks forward to seeing a lot of friends when he returns later this month to promote his new agenda to save the American Dream.”

Although, Rubio, 43, is Roman Catholic, he and his sister and mother were all baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he lived in Las Vegas. Nevada Mormons are politically active and can sway the GOP vote, although they make up 5-7 percent of the state population. Romney won 95 percent of the Mormon vote, according to exit polls.

Rubio’s new book is called “American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone.” The tome aligns with a growing theme among potential 2016 candidates focused on lifting the working class and addressing inequality.

“American Dreams” went on sale Jan. 13, including on Amazon.com, which said Rubio’s second book is aimed at inspiring Americans “to reclaim their rights: to dream, to work, to build a better life for their children.”

The Los Angeles Times, in reviewing the book, said the Republican Rubio is putting out a message that Hillary Rodham Clinton — a likely Democratic presidential candidate — could get behind, as would U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has been pulling her Democratic Party to the left.

“Something structural has shifted” in the U.S. economy, Rubio writes in his new book, according to the Los Angeles Times. “For most Americans, wages are stagnant. Old jobs have been outsourced or automated …. Middle-class families are living paycheck to paycheck, juggling bill payments to stay one step ahead of debt collection agencies.” And, he adds, “the blame for this failure belongs to both parties in Washington, D.C.”

The book sounds like a potential launch for a presidential campaign, which Rubio has said he’ll decide on in coming weeks. His book tour, meanwhile, helps him test his support in early voting battlegrounds.

Rubio’s book tour will include stops in all four early-voting states, including Feb. 13 in West Des Moines, Iowa; Feb. 18, in Las Vegas; Feb. 19 in Greenville, S.C.; and Feb. 23 in Manchester, N.H. No details were available on Rubio’s Las Vegas stop. The senator also will be signing books at stops in Florida as well.

Rubio’s first book, a memoir, “An American Son,” was published in 2012. It recounts his personal life and political career.

Nick Phillips, political director of the Clark County GOP, said the local party anticipates lots of potential candidate visits.

“We look forward to Senator Rubio’s visit to Las Vegas and the coming visits of other potential candidates so that we can have the opportunity to get to know each others,” Phillips said.

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Find her on Twitter: @lmyerslvrj.