Dhani Jones to help Marco Rubio fundraise here

COLUMBUS — Republican presidential hopeful, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, will raise money in Cincinnati next month with support from a former Bengal.

Rubio will make his first stop of his presidential campaign in Cincinnati on Dec. 17 for a fundraiser breakfast at the Queen City Club. The event is hosted by Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, Rubio's campaign coordinator in Ohio; Northern Kentucky commercial developer Bill Butler and Cleveland car dealership owner Bernie Moreno, who owns Mercedes Benz of Fort Mitchell.

Among the Cincinnati-area co-chairs of the event is former Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones. Attendees must pay $5,400 per couple for a co-chair photo reception and breakfast. Breakfast alone is $2,000 per couple.

Rubio has no public events in Cincinnati scheduled at this time. The GOP nominee hopeful has another fundraiser in Cleveland that evening.

It's not the Florida senator's first trip to Ohio. Rubio has campaigned in Youngstown, Columbus and Cleveland.

Do Ohioans want Rubio for president? He ranked sixth in an October Quinnipiac poll of Republican voters behind front-runners Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson. Gov. John Kasich was third.

Some Republican donors and operatives have speculated about a Rubio-Kasich or Kasich-Rubio ticket.

Is a Kasich/Rubio ticket a 2016 GOP dream?

Rubio's fundraiser is the day after the deadline for Ohio's March 15 primary.