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 Rubio, a senator from Florida, has spent much of the last several
weeks either bogged down in a U.S. Senate preoccupied with a Pacific
Rim trade deal or out of the public eye raising money.
But after his Chicago speech, Rubio will visit Iowa and then Nevada,
both of which hold key nominating contests early next year. His
campaign says to expect further travel, likely to New Hampshire.
With his Cuban-American background, youth and compelling biography,
Rubio, 44, has long been viewed by campaign analysts as one
candidate in the ever-growing field of 14 who could break out from
the pack.
As yet, however, there is little sign of that. State polls in early
primary states, save for his home state of Florida, have typically
shown Rubio struggling to crack double-digits. A Reuters Ipsos poll
showed Rubio drawing support from 9.6 percent of likely Republican
primary voters nationally - behind former Florida Governor Jeb Bush,
the nominal front-runner, and reality show star Donald Trump.
 Rubio is expected to use his speech in Chicago to defend his
tax-reform plan, which has been criticized in conservative circles,
and touch upon themes that some economists say sound unusual coming
from a Republican presidential hopeful.
Rubio has used previous campaign events to discuss the plight of
working mothers, middle-class families and college students, wading
into topics that Democrats often emphasize. He has questioned
whether a traditional college education provides a good bargain for
some students who he says would benefit more from skills-based
training.
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“Only through an innovative economy can we translate new
technologies into new middle-class jobs,” Rubio will say Tuesday,
according to excerpts of his speech released ahead of time, “and
only through a revolutionized higher education system can we equip
all our people to fill those jobs.”
James Pethokoukis, a scholar at the right-leaning American
Enterprise Institute, said Rubio deserved credit for trying to
develop an agenda that goes beyond criticizing President Barack
Obama and the leading Democratic contender, Hillary Clinton.
But Pethokoukis, like several conservatives, was critical of Rubio’s
tax plan, which would simplify the federal tax code and offer new
tax credits to families with children. Unlike some plans floated by
Rubio's rivals, his plan would not significantly lower the top-tier
income tax rates, though it would cut the corporate tax rate.
(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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