Marco Rubio, the fresh-faced Republican senator from Florida--ever heard of him?
If you have, you're one of the few.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, more than half of Latinos say they have either never heard of him (39 percent), respond "don't know" (11 percent) or can't rate him (2 percent). Similarly, more than half (54 percent) of Latino registered voters say they either have never heard of him (40 percent), don't know (10 percent) or can't rate him (4 percent).
The Florida Republican senator, who is of Cuban ancestry, was recently mentioned by presidential candidate Newt Gingrich as a viable vice presidential candidate.
Gingrich also brought up New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.
The Pew Hispanic survey revealed in December 2011 that Rubio is not well known among Hispanics.
"When asked about their opinion of Rubio, Among all Latinos, those who have heard of Rubio more have a favorable opinion (31 percent) than an unfavorable opinion (15 percent). Among Latino registered voters who have heard of Rubio, 27 percent say they have a favorable opinion of him while 18 percent say they have an unfavorable opinion," according to the survey.
The Pew Hispanic Center also found that Rubio is viewed more favorably among Republicans (45 percent) than he is among Democrats (24 percent).
"Even so, a significant minority (40 percent) of Hispanic Republicans, and a majority of Hispanic Democrats (57 percent), either have never heard of him, don't know or can't rate him."
For more information on the survey, including President Obama's approval rating among Hispanics, visit PewHispanic.org.
