The 2016 presidential campaign of
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...
, who is currently the senior
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, was formally announced on April 13, 2015, at an event at the
Freedom Tower
One World Trade Center (also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merr ...
in Downtown Miami.
[Jaffe, Alexandra; Bash, Dana (April 13, 2015]
"He's in: Marco Rubio announces presidential bid"
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
. Retrieved April 14, 2015. Early polling showed Rubio, who was considered a potential candidate for
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
by Republican presidential nominee
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, as a frontrunner candidate for the
Republican nomination for
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
since at least the end of the 2012 election.
[Nelson, Rebecca (April 13, 2015]
"Marco Rubio Makes His Pitch as the Fresh Face of the GOP in 2016"
''National Journal
''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes da ...
''. Retrieved April 14, 2015. Rubio was the second
Cuban American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
to run for
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, with Republican
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
announcing his campaign three weeks earlier. He suspended his campaign on March 15, 2016, after finishing second in Florida's primary.
Background
2012 presidential election
![Marco Rubio by Gage Skidmore 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Marco_Rubio_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg)
As early as January 2011, there had been speculation that he might seek the office of the president or vice-president. In January 2011, Rubio stated he had no interest in being the vice-presidential candidate in the
2012 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*3–4 January: E ...
. Despite his comments, speculation continued that presidential candidate
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
might select Rubio as his running mate. According to the book ''
Double Down'', Romney's campaign narrowed down his list of potential nominees for vice president to five candidates, one of which was Rubio. However, Romney ultimately picked
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
congressman
Paul Ryan
Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
.
2016 presidential election
Throughout 2014, groups had been raising money to support a potential Rubio presidential campaign. Groups supporting Rubio raised over $530,000 in the first three months of 2014, most of which was spent on consultants and data analytics, in what was seen as preparations for a presidential campaign.
Early polling data showed Rubio as a frontrunner for the nomination shortly after the 2012 election. From late 2012 to mid-2013, Rubio came in first in eight consecutive
national polls among potential 2016 candidates, from such sources as
Public Policy Polling,
Harper Polling,
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...
, and
Farleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
. In
statewide polls, he had performed most prominently in his home state of Florida, alongside Jeb Bush, and has also performed fairly well in
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. With 7,560 students (includes all campuses, 7,379 at the Boston location alone), it is the eighth-largest university in metropolitan Boston. It was founded as a l ...
polls in such states as
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, and
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. A poll from the
WMUR/University, tracking New Hampshire Republican primary voters' sentiment, showed Rubio at the top alongside
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
senator
Rand Paul
Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...
in March 2013. However, he had dropped to 10th place behind other Republican contenders by April 2014. The poll, however, also suggested that Rubio was not disliked by primary voters, which could have been positive for him had other candidates chosen not to run. By the time of Rubio's announcement, he had regained some standing in the polls. A March 2015 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll asked Republican Party voters if they could see themselves supporting the various candidates. Rubio won the poll with 56 percent of Republican voters saying they could see themselves supporting Rubio, while only 26 percent said they could not. Wisconsin governor
Scott Walker and former Arkansas governor
Mike Huckabee
Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...
trailed just behind Rubio with 53 and 52 percent, respectively. A CNN/ORC poll conducted from March 13 to March 15, 2015, found that Rubio was tied with
Chris Christie for the Republican nomination.
In January 2015, Rubio began laying the foundation for a presidential campaign. He began contacting top donors and appointed advisors, including
George Seay
George Seay is a Dallas, Texas-based businessman, co-founder and chairman of Annandale Capital, and conservative political leader. Seay previously served as Texas finance chairman for Texas Governor Rick Perry's 2012 Presidential campaign, and was ...
, who previously worked on
Rick Perry's 2012 presidential campaign and
Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, and Jim Rubright, who had previously worked for
Jeb Bush, Romney, and
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
.
Rubio also instructed his aides to "prepare for a presidential campaign" prior to a Team Marco 2016 fundraising meeting in
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the fi ...
.
Campaign
![Marco Rubio by Gage Skidmore 6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Marco_Rubio_by_Gage_Skidmore_6.jpg)
On March 30, 2015, Rubio announced on
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
and through social media that he would be making a "big announcement" on April 13 in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. While he did not specify whether the announcement pertained to his
reelection as a United States Senator or for the Presidency, most media consensus was that Rubio would be announcing his presidential run. He made the announcement at the
Freedom Tower
One World Trade Center (also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merr ...
in Downtown Miami.
In his announcement speech, Rubio cast himself as forward-looking and a leader for a new generation of Americans, in contrast to Democrat
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, who announced her presidential campaign the day before; in addition, he announced he would not seek re-election as senator.
With the announcement, Rubio became
the fourth major candidate to officially announce a run after Republicans (and fellow senators)
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Rand Paul
Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...
of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Although Rubio initially struggled to poll as well as other frontrunners such as
Chris Christie,
Jeb Bush,
Scott Walker, and
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, Rubio's performance in
the debates was widely seen as a boosting factor in his rising poll numbers in the late summer and fall of 2015. Over the course of both of the first two debates, in August and September, Rubio was widely praised as one of the top performers, even being called the winner by some analysts. As a result, Rubio's poll numbers began to increase once more, and he eventually reached the #3 position in most polling averages, only behind Trump and
Ben Carson. Another factor that was seen as greatly improving Rubio's chances was the exit from the race of Scott Walker on September 21. Analysts claimed that many of Walker's supporters and donors were turning to him as a viable alternative to Bush, who could also claim broad appeal to both moderates and conservatives. With Walker out of the race, Rubio was widely viewed as the next likeliest candidate who best matched this criteria. The Rubio campaign was even reported as hiring up to nine of Walker's former top staffers less than 24 hours after his exit.
Matt Lewis has commented that, "Democrats should fear Marco Rubio", who Lewis saw as "heralding a generational shift" for Republicans.
[Matt K. Lewis ]
"Geriatric Democrats should fear Marco Rubio and the Republican youth wing; Florida Senator's debate triumph comes as Paul Ryan is elected Speaker, heralding a generational shift that conservaties must seize"
''The Telegraph'', October 31, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-02 Rubio, along with
Paul Ryan
Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
and his recent ascension to the
House speakership, Lewis says, means "both men will be attacked for their youth and energy", adding: "But it's hard to look at this strong and diverse Republican bench, and not juxtapose it to the Democrats, whose party – now that
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
is a
lame duck – seems to be represented by a bunch of old white people, such as
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, 68,
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
, the 74-year-old democratic socialist candidate, ...
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
, 75, and
Harry Reid, 75... For Democrats, who were hoping they would get to deal with old
pols
The pols and springar are Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of No ...
like
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...
and
Jeb Bush...the world just got a little bit scarier".
[
The ]November 2015 Paris attacks
The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
were widely seen as altering the narrative of the 2016 presidential primaries, and in particular gave a boost to Rubio for his foreign policy stances, in comparison to such candidates who were softer on foreign policy such as Carson, and also for his having political experience, in contrast to other front-runners such as Trump.
During the latter part of 2015, Rubio's voting record in the senate came under scrutiny. Jeb Bush, during the CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
debate on October 28, told Rubio that he could either campaign or resign, Rubio responding that Bush had not made similar comments about the voting record of John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
during his 2008 presidential campaign and concluded that Bush was only criticizing "because we're running for the same position and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you." In December, while in Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, fellow presidential candidate Chris Christie mentioned Rubio missing a vote on a national spending bill the senator opposed and added, "Just show up to work and vote no, and like if you don't want to, then quit." On December 29, Rubio responded to Christie by claiming to have close to a 90% attendance record while also retorting that the governor had "been missing in New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
half of the time." In late December, Right to Rise
Right to Rise is a political action committee (PAC) created to support Jeb Bush in the 2016 presidential election. A Super PAC, Right to Rise is permitted to raise and spend unlimited amounts of corporate, union, and individual campaign contr ...
, a Jeb Bush super PAC, released an ad claiming that Rubio had both missed a classified meeting the previous month after the Paris attacks and "missed more total votes than any other senator". On January 7, Rubio defended his record by arguing that votes were "precooked" and votes were used to "make a statement."
Rubio participated in the January 28 Fox News debate, charging Cruz with building his campaign on "the lie" stemming from his stance on immigration and insisting in Jeb Bush's book '' Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution'' that the latter changed his "position on immigration". January 29, during an interview the following day, Rubio was confident about his chances in Iowa, though did not deny that Ted Cruz was the frontrunner since by Rubio's admission, "He's spent basically all of his money in Iowa."
Early primaries
Rubio finished in third place in the Iowa caucus on February 1. Though polling had shown him in third place prior to the caucus, the result was still treated as a surprisingly strong showing. Amber Phillips of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote of Rubio's performance, "He over-performed expectations, and for that, Rubio perhaps almost as much as Cruz can call Monday a win." After being projected in third place, Rubio said in a speech that he had defied expectations and swore that when he was the nominee of the election cycle, "we are going to unify this party, and we are going to unify the conservative movement". A little over a week after the primary, on February 10, Rubio accused Cruz of having misled voters through claiming fellow candidate Ben Carson would be ending his campaign in what he called "a concerted effort that I'm sure they planned to execute on something in order to influence the election."
Going into New Hampshire, Rubio by February 5, four days after the Iowa victory, was polling at an average of 16%. This placed him in second place, behind Trump.
At the New Hampshire debate on February 6, 2016, Rubio was criticized by Christie for repeating memorized speeches, to which Rubio replied by repeating four times a statement to the effect that President Obama was destroying America. Rubio defended these remarks the following day, saying with respect to the statement that Obama "knows exactly what he's doing" that "It's what I believe and it's what I'm going to continue to say, because it happens to be one of the main reasons why I am running." Rubio came in fifth place during the New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest (the first being the Iowa caucuses) held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choosi ...
on February 9. Shortly afterward, Rubio admitted to supporters that he was disappointed and concluded that his debate performance three days prior had not helped him in the state. Chris Christie, who came in sixth place behind Rubio, dropped out the following day. Rubio responded to his ended candidacy by praising him.
Campaigning in South Carolina on February 11, Rubio charged Trump and Bush with having no foreign policy experience and acknowledged John Kasich as experienced in that regard, but not having been involved with foreign policy "in a long time." Rubio participated in the February 13 CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
debate, exchanging with Cruz over the latter's claim regarding Rubio's comments in Spanish during an appearance on Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
. Rubio responded by claiming that Cruz did not know how to speak Spanish, Cruz retorting through speaking the language. The following day, February 14, Rubio denied that he was attempting to call into question Cruz's legitimacy as a Latino, instead having meant to question if he understood him and, he added, regarding Cruz, "He's just going off what other people are telling him, and it's false. It's just not true." On February 17, Governor of South Carolina
The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the '' ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...
Nikki Haley
Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...
endorsed Rubio. Haley's endorsement was seen as helpful to Rubio, exit polls after the primary having one in four voters indicate that they had supported Rubio only after the governor's endorsement. In the South Carolina primary
The South Carolina presidential primary is an open primary election which has become one of several key early-state United States presidential primary, presidential primaries in the process of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic and Re ...
on February 20, Rubio finished in second place at 22%, but won zero delegates from the state.[ Jeb Bush came in fourth place and then suspended his campaign. In his speech afterward, Rubio said the primary had "become a three person race, and we will win the nomination".
The next voting state, ]Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, was seen as one that Rubio could potentially claim as his first victory due to the outpouring of support from the Republican Party. Some commentators observed Rubio having spent six years of his childhood in the state as a potential advantage over the other candidates in appealing to voters. Rubio acknowledged his roots within the state, but believed that he was similar to the other candidates in having to "compete hard" for a victory. A poll was released on February 17 showing Rubio in second place at 19%, twenty-six points behind Trump who was at 45%. Nevada lieutenant governor Mark Hutchison
Mark Alan Hutchison (born May 5, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 2015 to 2019. He was elected to the Nevada State Senate on November 6, 2012, to represent Nevada Senate, Dist ...
publicly expressed confidence in Rubio's chances, as did the candidate himself. However, on February 23, the day of the primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
, Rubio finished in second place, behind Trump. The victory widened Trump's lead over the others, leading to a belief that he was going to become the nominee regardless of the results of Super Tuesday. Following the second-place finish, aides of Rubio said he would only win if supporters of both Kasich, who was still running despite poor performances in nearly every one of the four states, and Bush coalesced behind him.
Rubio participated in the CNN debate on February 25, having heated exchanges with front-runner Donald Trump. On February 26, Rubio followed up on his performance the previous day at a rally in Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
by mocking Trump's misspelled tweets and suggested Trump's "pants were wet". Rubio made further comments about Trump which included remarks denouncing his privileged background as having made him unfamiliar with financial difficulties and his physical appearance. Weeks later, Rubio regretted mocking Trump in this manner, stating that his "kids were embarrassed by it".
Super Tuesday; March contests
Leading up to Super Tuesday, there were mixed reactions to how well Rubio would perform. The following day, Rubio withdrew from planned appearances in Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
that were scheduled in the latter part of the week, leading to speculation that the move was the result of a lack of confidence the Rubio campaign had in its chances to win the two states, polling at the time showing Trump in first place.
On March 6, Rubio had won the Puerto Rico Republican primary by a large margin, pulling in 71.02% of the vote. He took all twenty-three delegates. Rubio previously addressed Puerto Rico during a CNN debate, arguing that its problems stemmed from an economy that was not growing and that it was "too expensive to do business there." He also blamed Puerto Rico governor Alejandro García Padilla
Alejandro Javier García Padilla (; born August 3, 1971) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017.
Prior to this position, García Padilla held various roles in the political la ...
for not cutting government spending, Padilla afterward charging him with being employed by the "vultures that fund his campaign." For the March 8 contests offering over 140 delegates, Rubio won one delegate from Hawaii and zero delegates from three other states: Idaho, Michigan and Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. He was third in Hawaii and Idaho, but ranked fourth in Michigan and Mississippi with less than 10% of the vote. This left him with a total of 152 delegates compared to Trump's 459 and Cruz's 360; so Rubio would still be behind even if he won Florida's 99 delegates. Also on that day, the Cruz campaign distributed an email indicating that Rubio was being advised to drop out, Rubio responding to the charge denying that he was withdrawing from the race, and his spokesman concluded that Cruz was "up to his dirty tricks again spreading false rumors and lies."
Florida loss; suspension
In early March 2016, there became a consensus that Rubio would have to win his home state to remain a credible candidate in the race, political science professor Stephen Craig saying the senator would be "dead meat" if he did not win Florida and further questioned if even a victory would be enough to sustain his campaign. Rubio expressed confidence that he would win Florida. Rubio's campaign was reported to be aiming for Ohio voters to support Kasich over him to beat Trump, while in contrast describing Rubio as the only candidate able to beat Trump in Florida. On March 11, CNN averaged six March polls for Florida and found that Rubio was scoring 26% support, less than Trump's 40%. Rubio's last rally, the night before the results, was at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL, just miles from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago, where he spoke optimistically of the next day ahead. On the day of the Florida primary, Rubio said that his campaign would continue to Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
regardless of the results and charged the polls, all of which showing him behind Trump, as being "out of control."
On March 15, 2016, Rubio suspended his campaign, when he finished second in the primary of his home state of Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
held that day. Rubio won in only 1 ( Miami-Dade) of Florida's 67 counties, and his Florida vote share was 27.0%; Trump won 45.7% and all of Florida's delegates. The conclusion of the six March 15 contests (out of which Rubio won none) left Rubio with 169 delegates on the race to reach 1237, but Ted Cruz already had 411 and Trump 673.
Fundraising
A Super PAC in support of Rubio, Conservative Solutions PAC, was launched in the beginning of April 2015. It is led by Warren Tompkins. Miami businessman Norman Braman
Norman Braman (born August 23, 1932) is an American billionaire car dealer, art collector, and former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Early life and education
Braman was born in 1932 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the Cobbs Cre ...
was named by political commentators as a probable large donor.
Rubio raised about $1.25 million online the day after his announcement. By the three-month mark of his campaign – July 13 – Rubio had raised over $12 million. Between July and September, Rubio acquired $5.7 million for the campaign, noted by ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
as being less than the garnered finances of rivals Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson, the latter having triple of Rubio's total. By Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
Rubio raised a total of $47,713,472. It was reported in January that Rubio was canceling a fundraiser to attend a senate meeting, one reportedly having to do with the current affairs of North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. That month, Rubio raised roughly $5 million. On March 16, the day after Rubio announced the suspension of his campaign, he met with donors, summarizing the end of the campaign, "We had a great season but we didn't get to the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
and we didn't win the Super Bowl".
Endorsements
;U.S. Governors (current and former)
;U.S. Senators (current and former)
;U.S. Representatives (current and former)
;U.S. Ambassadors (former)
;Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...
members (current)
;Republican National Committee members (former)
;Statewide officials
;State legislators
;Mayors and other municipal leaders
;International Politicians
;Businesspeople
;Newspapers
;Celebrities, commentators, and activists
See also
* Political positions of Marco Rubio
* Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...
* Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
This article contains the list of candidates associated with the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries for the 2016 United States presidential election.
Candidates
Individuals included in this section have their own Wikipedia page and ...
* Republican Party presidential debates, 2016
Twelve presidential debates and nine forums were held between the candidates for the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States, president in the 2016 United States presidential election, st ...
References
External links
Marco Rubio video released prior to official Presidential announcement
Official Marco Rubio campaign website
C-SPAN coverage of Rubio's campaign announcement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubio, Marco
2016 Republican Party (United States) presidential campaigns
Marco Rubio