TIME Politics

Marco Rubio Super PAC Releases South Carolina TV Ad

Rubio recruits Congressman Trey Gowdy to pitch his home state.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFeqbfuJ6I4]

The super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio aired its first television ad Tuesday in South Carolina.

A 30-second spot by the Conservative Solutions PAC recruits South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy to pitch his home state on the merits of the Senator from Florida.

“Our Founding Fathers gave us a President and a Commander in Chief because they understood that national security and public safety are the foundations of a free people, and there is nobody better on those two issues than Marco Rubio,” Gowdy says in the ad.

The ad is the first in a series of expected moves from Rubio’s super PAC in the crucial early-voting state of South Carolina, which holds its Republican presidential primary on Feb. 20.

FOX News reports that it is the first in a significant statewide buy, but would not specify the exact cost of the TV spot. Rubio is currently polling third behind Trump and Cruz in South Carolina, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Read More: Rubio Super PAC Blasts Christie’s Record, Ties to Obama

Marco Rubio’s Life in Pictures

Marco Rubio and his father outside his parents first home in Miami, Fla., 1972. Marco Rubio in 6th grade. Marco Rubio during the Southern Nevada youth football conference, Yesco Cavaliers in Las Vegas, Nev., 1982 High school photograph of Marco Rubio from his 1989 yearbook. South Miami Senior High yearbook photo of Marco Rubio in 1989. From right Marco Rubio with his mother and sister Veronica during his graduation from the University of Miami law school in 1996. Veronica graduated from Florida international university bachelor’s degree. Marco Rubio with his wife, Jeanette and his parents on his wedding day on Oct. 17, 1998. Jeanette Rubio and Marco Rubio holding their youngest child Amanda Rubio in 2000. Then representative Marco Rubio talks with a colleague during House session on April 1, 2004, in Tallahassee, Fla. At age 32, Rubio was one of the youngest legislators. Marco Rubio greets Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, on his way to being sworn in as the new speaker of the Florida House on Nov. 21, 2006, in Tallahassee, Fla. Vice President Joe Biden swears in Senator Marco Rubio to the U.S. Senate, on Jan. 5, 2010, in Washington, D.C. as his wife, Jeanette Rubio looks on. Marco Rubio with his son, Anthony Rubio, father, Mario Rubio and daughter Amanda Rubio as he signs election documents officially qualifying him as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate on April 27, 2010 in Miami, Fla. From left, Marco Rubio, Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek greet each other before the start of their debate at the studios of WESH-TV in Winter Park, Fla., on Oct. 26, 2010. Then Florida Republican U.S. Senate nominee Marco Rubio celebrates with his family after winning the election on Nov. 2, 2010, in Coral Gables, Fla. Marco Rubio and his sons Anthony, 5, right, and Dominic, 3, make their way to a swearing in ceremony for the 112th Congress in the Old Senate Chamber on Jan. 5, 2011. Courtesy Senator Marco Rubio Senator Marco Rubio during a visit to the El Paso sector of the United States/Mexico border on Nov. 4, 2011. Senator Marco Rubio Book Signing at Books And Books Former Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks with Senator Marco Rubio while flying from Pensacola to Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 27, 2012. Senator Marco Rubio listens to a question alongside Senator John McCain, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Robert Menendez and Senator Dick Durbin during a press conference on an agreement for principles on comprehensive immigration reform framework at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28, 2013.

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