Marco Rubio claims win in big race: the number of Facebook 'friends'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/05/art.rubio0505.gi.jpg caption="Marco Rubio has more Facebook friends than his Florida rivals."]Washington (CNN) - And the winner is…Marco Rubio.
The Republican candidate has not won the Florida Senate seat he is battling for. That election is not until November. But Rubio's campaign is bragging that it's currently winning another race that many Americans obsess over: who has more Facebook friends.
Rubio is vying for the Senate seat against Gov. Charlie Crist, who is mounting an independent bid after dropping out of the GOP primary, and two Democrats fighting for their party's nomination, Rep. Kendrick Meek and billionaire real estate developer Jeff Greene.
Rubio's campaign circulated a statement on Friday announcing that the candidate is beating his opponents in the oft-bragged-about measure of "friends" on the popular social networking site. The current score: Rubio 101,202, Crist 26,702 and Meek 17,328. Greene's Facebook profile does not publicly list his number of "friends."
The Rubio campaign is calling the 100,000+ mark a "milestone." In a statement, the campaign added, "With his grassroots momentum surging, Rubio currently has more Facebook friends than any other 2010 U.S. Senate candidate."
"I'm proud of the support our limited government message has generated and how Facebook has been and continues to be an important forum for idea-based debates about our country's future," Rubio said in the statement.
Rubio's opponents might not click the "like" button on his page or join any Rubio fan "group," two things Facebook users often do to show their approval.
Paul Blank, spokesman for Greene's campaign, told CNN, "I don't think it means very much."
"Rubio is a far right Republican and his views do not reflect the views of mainstream Florida voters," Blank added. "The important number for us is how many thousands of people are moving to Jeff [Greene's] campaign because they're fed up and frustrated with Washington."
Crist's campaign did not respond to CNN.
But Adam Sharon, press secretary for the Meek campaign, essentially dismissed Rubio's bragging about Facebook "friends."
"Facebook fans from Phoenix don't win elections in Florida," Sharon said, noting that a number of Rubio's "friends" do not live in the state.
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I don't care how many friends he has on facebook.....the important thing is can he get the congress and Obama to cut spending, to cut entitlement programs, to stop running up the deficits and to not raise taxes!!!!
Look if the President and the Dems in Congress had the courage to cut spending across the board 10% then I'd be willing to support a very modest across the board tax increase. But right now it is business as usually, fiscal irresponsibility, debt for our grandchildren and taking money from the hardest working americans to give free stuff to the laziest americans. It's gotta stop. Can Rubio help to solve the problem?
Wow! Just Ibecause one has more fb friends than anyone else does not make them more competent for the job!
I'm gona try to sound as stupid as a dumocrat i had a conversation with in the spring of '08: oh, i hope he wins! he's cuter than the old guy! – that ladies, gentlemen, and leftwing baby haters, is the typical vetting process by the sheep on the left. as a gay latino though, all politics aside, rubio is a cutie 😉
Well the teabaggers love that darling Rubio, maybe they want to borrow his republican credit card!
So Rubio spends his time on facebook instead of earning his pay which comes from the Florida Taxpayers...good job, Rubio.
What a tool. Anyone who thinks that the number of internet friends you have means absolutely anything should go back to Junior High.
silly, silly! and this guy is running for the senate! typical republican- totally unqualified
Facebook friends?! Is he for real? I've got news for you Marco, you're not campaigning for homecoming king! Who cares how many Facebook friends each candidate has?
I can't wait until Charlie Crist shuts this little commie punk down.
Yeah, and I'm sure the republican party is gathering a lot of facebook names for their mailing lists and other fund-raising purposes. But I guess these people don't care about their privacy.
Well, then I guess its settled.
Rubio's braggadocio is about as credible as Piyush 'Bobby' Jindal's explanation for the reason he gallivants around the country 'fund raising' instead of governing in LA.
Now, of course, you couldnt dynamite him from the hallowed oily shores of his beloved LA and the opportunity for photo ops-
and is bellowing about the lack of aid from those interfering, BIG GOVERNMENT intruders, the feds.
All of these guys are politicians and are all self serving and just live for the next vote and hang what is good for the country.
Sore loser spouting off about the people he perceives caused him to lose. Color me shocked. Good riddance to RINO trash!
LOL. Yeah, Rubio, for you facebook is a big race.
As Chris Farly used to put it so eloquently:
" La di freakin da"!
So he shall be called from now on the Facebook Senator.
Isn't that special?
Maybe he paid for his facebook followers with credit cards that aren't his too.
Using popularity as the inefficient tool it is, by this criteria the world should elect that no-talent hag Lady Gaga as queen of the planet. Is there anything more useless?
yeah but you wont win the senate
Hey Marco, It isn't a popularity contest. Until the Florida Republican Party can answer to its misapprpriation of its donated funds to pay off personal credit cards, shopping sprees for spouces, etc... you get the picture, Charlie Crist is going to clean your clock. But hey, you'll figure it all out before November.
Didn't know Facebook friends qualified as voters.
Maybe Rubio can tell me which Amendment to the Constitution gave them that right.
wow that'll get you elected for sure!! Gimme a freaking break!
Sad that people like this will probably be elected. America deserves it. Going down hill faster and farther, back to the Dark Ages
and that will be the only win for this hypocrite, money grabber
What grade is he in? This is not a popularity contest. It should be about who can best represent the citizens of this great country. The Republicans can only see this is as a big game and will say anything to win.