Rubio Campaign Press Release - Meet the Retired Customs Officer Who's One of Marco Rubio's Most Faithful Supporters

Meet the Amazing Supporter Marco Mentioned at the Miami Debate

At the debate on Thursday, Marco mentioned a story he heard from his wife Jeanette about an elderly supporter who, despite being told by his doctor he should be resting, has been spending every day for weeks now volunteering for Marco at his local polling station.

Now, we get to meet the man himself: 69-year-old Everett Sutton.

A local news team caught up with him:

Mr. Sutton's explanation of why he's so dedicated sums it all up:

I'm not doing it so much for Marco so much as I am for my kids, because he is the person who's going to give them, and this country, the very best future possible.

The Miami Herald reports on how Mr. Sutton found out he was the volunteer Marco had mentioned:

Sutton watched the debate — "Of course I did" — and went back to his post at the Coral Reef Branch Library on Friday morning without realizing his brief brush with political fame. Then a Rubio aide came by to offer thanks for his dedication, explaining that Sutton was the man Rubio had mentioned.

"I was very flattered," said Sutton, a 69-year-old father of four from Pinecrest. He goes to the same church as Rubio — St. Louis in Pinecrest — and has seen him but never met him, he said.

Sutton thinks Rubio got word of his super volunteer because earlier in the week, after Sutton returned to the library from getting chemotherapy for his arthritis (he doesn't have cancer), Rubio's sister came by. "She told me, 'You look kind of pale,' and I said, 'Well, I think I've got a right to!' "

His doctors did indeed tell him to stay home and rest. But Sutton, who used to build speedboats and worked chasing drug smugglers for customs enforcement during the "cocaine cowboys" days, said the election is too important. He's been following politics since he was 8 or 9 years old, he said, dropping the names of Adlai Stevenson and Dwight Eisenhower. In 2012, he said, he volunteered at early polls for Mitt Romney.

"This is not a campaign that the Republican Party or the Democratic Party should be proud of," he said. He was speaking — a little out of breath — by telephone near the tree he stands next to at the library. He relies on a cane following a mild stroke years ago. Sometimes he doesn't even break for lunch.

Want to chip in just like Mr. Sutton?

If you're not in Florida, go here to make calls for Marco. If you are in Florida, go here to sign up to volunteer.