KENNESAW — Despite an effort to deflect attention from the growing support of Donald Trump, fellow Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio devoted much of his time Saturday afternoon referencing the businessman and party front-runner.

“The party of Lincoln and Reagan is on the verge of being taken over by a con artist named Donald Trump,” said Rubio, a senator from to a crowd of more than 7,000 people at Mount Paran Christian School. “A con artist identifies people who are struggling and convinces you that they have something that will help turn that around, and Donald Trump has done that.”

He incorporated jabs toward Trump after the real-estate mogul and reality television star tweeted a photo of Rubio getting made up before a debate.

Never let them see you sweat! pic.twitter.com/qygVFf6JFF

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2016

“It’s amazing to me that the guy with the worst spray tan in America is attacking me,” Rubio said. “Donald Trump likes to sue people; he should sue whoever did that to his face.”

Moving away from his own party’s competitors, he then shifted his attention toward the Democratic candidates in appealing to the importance of the election.

“If you want to live in a socialist country, move to a socialist country,” Rubio said in reference to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. “We want to be America.”

He also said former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is unqualified to be president of the United States and disqualified to be commander in chief because of her lack of transparency with questions surrounding her alleged use of a personal email server to distribute classified government information and her involvement in the Benghazi military operation.

In his speech Saturday Rubio told the crowd, “We are going to save free enterprise, we’re going to fix our tax code, we are going to roll back these crazy regulations that come out of the federal government.” He added, “We are going to save social security and medicare and balance our budgets, we are going to

fully utilize the resources the energy resources that God has blessed America with and we are going to repeal and replace Obamacare once and for all.” With a 29 percent chance of winning the state (according to which poll?) Rubio closed his speech with an appeal to the audience to work for him so he can win the vote.

“This Tuesday, I am asking you for your vote. And I am asking you to go home and find every one you can influence and get them to vote for me.”

By Michelle Baruchman @mlbaruchman