after Rubio won the Republican nomination. On November 2, 2010, Rubio won the general election with 49% of the vote to Crist's 30% and Democrat Kendrick Meek's 20%. When Rubio was sworn in to the U.S. Senate, he and Bob Menendez of New Jersey were the only two Latino Americans in the Senate. 2016 In April 2015, Rubio decided to run for president instead of seeking reelection to the Senate. After suspending his presidential campaign on March 15, 2016, Rubio "seemed to open the door to running for reelection" on June 13, 2016, citing the previous day's Orlando nightclub shooting and how "it really gives you pause, to think a little bit about your service to your country and where you can be most useful to your country." Rubio officially started his campaign nine days later, on June 22. Rubio won the Republican primary on August 30, 2016, defeating Carlos Beruff. He faced Democratic nominee Patrick Murphy in the general election, defeating him with almost 52% of the vote. 2022 In November 2020, Rubio announced he would run for a third Senate term in the 2022 election. He faced Democratic challenger Val Demings, the U.S. Representative for Florida's 10th congressional district and a former police officer. Rubio criticized Demings as an "ineffective member of Congress and a puppet of Nancy Pelosi; she's voted with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time". Demings criticized Rubio's attendance record in the Senate, and in a campaign ad said Rubio had "one of the worst attendance records in the Senate. When Florida needs you, you just don't show up." Demings also claimed that Rubio supported tax hikes, but this was proven false. Rubio won the November 8 general election with 57% of the vote to Demings's 41%. Tenure as senator During Rubio's first four years in the U.S. Senate, Republicans were in the minority. After the 2014 midterm elections, the Republicans obtained majority control of the Senate, giving Rubio and the Republicans vast federal influence during the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency, as well as during all four years of Donald Trump's presidency. After the 2020 elections, the Democrats regained majority control of the Senate, and Rubio has reassumed minority status within the Senate. 2011–2015 Shortly after taking office in 2011, Rubio said he had no interest in running for president or vice president in the 2012 presidential election. In March 2012, when