COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) -- Hundreds crowded into a conference room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Council Bluffs on Saturday to hear Florida Senator and Republican Presidential Candidate Marco Rubio speak.
"2016 is a turning point for America," Rubio said, "if we continue on the road we're on now, we're going to leave our children more soft than ourselves."
With the Iowa caucus two weeks away, Rubio stressed the need for millennial and young voters to make it to the polls.
"This election is more about them than anyone else, it's about the debt they're going to inherit, it's about a weaker national defense...all of this is because Barack Obama has been a disastrous President." said Rubio.
"If you listen to him, he genuinely cares about us, you can just feel that," said Matthew Server, a student at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Rubio says he's now focusing on winning younger voters, a difficult demographic to get to the polls.
"I'm passionate about these things because I've seen it, I've felt it," Rubio said, "and I love people who are going through this, because they're in my family, and in my neighborhood and in my life."
Rubio told supporters here the government needs to ramp up defense spending. He specifically targeted Ted Cruz, who supported Rand Paul's budget which cut spending on military.
Every Republican wants to keep America safe, but I don't think our next commander in chief can be someone who believes we need to spend less on our military than we are spending now." Rubio said.
Hundreds stuck around to meet Rubio afterwards. The Senator signed posters and took pictures for nearly an hour after the event.
"The spirit and energy that he brings," Megan Swartz, a mother and supporter of Marco Rubio, said, "I think especially with younger people my age as well, it's been very positive. I love his messages about security being the number one, and the number one job as President."
