INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Former Florida Speaker of the House and current Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Marco Rubio Monday endorsed incumbent Debbie Mayfield in her race for the state House of Representatives.Rubio, whose conservative ties pushed Gov. Charlie Crist to leave the Republican party to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent, gave the nod to Mayfield over Art Argenio and Bradley Ward in the Republican primary. “I am proud to endorse Debbie Mayfield because she is a true conservative leader who understands that government needs to get smaller and reduce the tax burden on Florida families and businesses in order to create jobs and get our economy moving,” Rubio said. “The residents of District 80 will be well served by Debbie Mayfield in the Florida House of Representatives.”Mayfield, who lives in Vero Beach, was first elected to the Florida House in 2008. Her late husband, Stan Mayfield served as the District 80 representative from 2000 to 2008.”Marco and I share the same priorities for Florida of reducing government spending and lowering taxes, I’m honored to have his support,” Mayfield said.The Republican primary will be held Aug. 24. There are no Democrats in the race but a bid by Derek Muller of Vero Beach as a write-in candidate means only Republicans will be allowed to vote in the primary. The Republican winner will face Muller in the November general election.Early voting begins Aug. 9.
