The Conventional Wisdom of Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio has been quietly calculating his comeback. The Florida Senator has made strategic moves to protect his hard earned delegates.
Rubio was an early favorite of moderate republicans who chose not to cave into conservative extremism. Feared by Democrats and his rivals, Sen. Rubio was attacked by his less electable opponents. Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Ted Cruz spent millions attacking him, challenging him on his “conservative credentials”. They pushed a race to the extreme right as voters were bombarded with uncompromising attack ads.
The 44-year-old Florida Senator was arguably the winner of most of the debates. His skillfully answered questions on foreign policy and immigration demonstrated common sense. The stress of taking fire and an allegedly coordinated assault by Trump’s good friend Chris Christie aided in his New Hampshire debate stumble.
Florida became Marco’s last stand. As Rubio climbed in the polls to close the gap with Trump, Cruz opened campaign offices across the state, pushing a losing campaign to deny Rubio the win. This bold tactic successfully siphoned enough votes away to force an end to Marco Rubio’s campaign.
Since his Florida loss, Sen. Rubio has been mostly silent. His behind the scenes maneuvering has caused speculation as to what his next move will be. Protecting his delegates from falling into Trump’s tiny hands signaled his intention to stay in the fight.
He sent this letter to party organizations in states where he won delegates to keep them bound to his campaign.
“I write this letter to inform you that the decision to suspend my campaign for President of the Untied States is not intended to release any National Convention Delegates bound to me as a result of the 2016 delegation selection process that took place in your State. It is my desire at this time that the delegates allocated to me by your rules remain bound to vote for me on at least the first nominating ballot at the National Convention.”
Rubio’s letter to Alaska Republican Party Chairman
Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. John Kasich, and Gov. Mitt Romney have all had a hand in crafting a brokered convention strategy to prevent Donald Trump from destroying the GOP. Polls currently show Trump losing to Hillary by 10+ points. If they are successful, a Rubio could emerge as the eventual nominee.
A group of loyal Rubio supporters has launched a grassroots campaign to get him to unsuspend his campaign. The site OnlyMarco.com is asking people to sign a petition to bring back Marco Rubio. In their eyes, he is America’s best hope against Hillary Clinton.
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