Citing a return of his father's lung cancer, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio cut short his campaign bus tour.
"Unfortunately, my father Mario Rubio has been diagnosed with a recurrence of lung cancer. This will require me to return to South Florida," Rubio said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
We are in the process of rescheduling some of the coming days events and look forward to continuing our conversation with voters in these communities in the near future."
After finishing up Tuesday's "Take a Stand" appearances at The Villages, Rubio was scheduled to attend two events Wednesday morning -- a rally at Belleview City Hall on Wednesday and a speaking engagement at a Caterpillar dealership in St. Augustine -- before heading back to Miami.
His original itinerary for Thursday and Friday had included stops in Starke, Gainesville, Hudson, New Port Richey, Sarasota and Lakeland. The trip was scheduled to conclude in Vero Beach, where he was to speak to a Tea Party rally at the old Dodgertown complex.
Before kicking off his Central Florida tour in Orlando on Tuesday morning, the former House speaker said Senate Bill 6 -- the performance-pay program for teachers -- "should be signed."
A day earlier, in a radio interview, he had declined to take a position. During his tenure as House speaker, Rubio was on record as favoring performance-pay legislation.
SB 6 has become a political hot potato in recent days as teacher unions mobilized opposition to the measure.
Rubio's opponent in the GOP primary, Gov. Charlie Crist, has expressed concerns about the bill, which he initially supported. The governor has until Friday to sign or veto the measure.
In the latest polling, Rubio held a 57-28 lead over Crist in a Rasmussen survey of likely GOP voters. That was the highest percentage total for Rubio and the lowest for Crist. The primary is Aug. 24.
Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or (772) 801-5341.
