ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9 investigative reporter Christopher Heath spoke with Marco Rubio Friday in his first interview since winning the Florida primary, securing the Republican Party's nomination.
Rubio will head back to Washington next week, where Congress will be asked to deal with Zika.
Rubio expressed his frustration about the slow movement in the fight against Zika.
For Florida, it is a bipartisan issue and Rubio knows voters want to see action, especially if they are going to trust him to keep the job in November.
Heath asked Rubio about the main criticism he's facing: that he's only running for Senate so he can run for president again in four years.
"Why not come out and say you'll serve the full six years?” Heath asked.
“First of all, I never said I wouldn't. My intention is to be a U.S. senator. I'm not running for anything else," Rubio said.
But in June, Rubio said he wouldn’t run for the Senate, telling Heath, "I intend to be a private citizen in January, and as of today, nothing's changed."
Rubio will be in Washington D.C. Tuesday, where the Senate will take up a bill to fund the fight against Zika.
"I'm cautiously optimistic we'll get a good result," said Rubio.
The bill is $800 million less than President Barack Obama has asked for and has a rider in it that would keep the money from being used by Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood goes door-to-door in Miami, educating people about Zika and offering medical assistance.
The Democrats have said they want a clean bill, without the rider.
"That said, we should take away any excuse the Democrats can make up and pass this thing moving forward to get the money flowing," Rubio said.
Rubio, who once called Donald Trump a conman, said he's running to be a "check and balance" against the next president.