Marco Rubio was supposed to be the chosen one. The Florida Senator — a young, charismatic Latino who almost fulfilled the unattainable presidential expectation that every immigrant parent has for their American-born children — is pretty much down for the count. Here’s why:
Super Tuesday was a huge dud.
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Rubio seemed to have found his footing at last week’s debate, where he successfully out-bullied Donald Trump. It looked like that momentum was going to carry over to Super Tuesday. That didn’t happen. Of the 11 states up for grabs, Trump took 7, Cruz got 3 and Rubio only managed to win Minnesota. The lone win was 3 short of what his campaign was predicting/hoping for.
Fox News is reportedly done with him.
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Despite playing second fiddle to Trump, Rubio looked to be the party’s chosen one. Even Fox News had his back… until they didn’t. On Wednesday, New York magazine published a story claiming that the higher ups at the conservative news outlet were tired of Rubio underperforming and were no longer going to support him because they no longer think he has a chance of winning.
Rubio is behind in Florida.
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Say what you want about Ted Cruz (and trust me, there’s a lot to be said about the Canadian-born, anti-immigrant Senator), but he at least won Texas, his home state. This is huge for Cruz because of the high number of delegates the Lone Star State awards. If the polls turn out to be true, that won’t be the case for Rubio. According to Real Clear Politics, Trump holds an 18-point advantage over Rubio in the Sunshine State. If Rubio can’t win at home, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to win elsewhere.
