If the polls are even close to correct, Marco Rubio is headed for a home-state drubbing in today's Florida primary. Virtually every survey worth its salt shows Trump crushing Rubio somewhere in the neighborhood of 44%-27%. Even the Marco-friendly outliers to which the Rubio campaign is clinging show the real estate Billionaire with a 10-point lead.
You would think that, if these predictions hold, Rubio would be calling it a day after the results are announced. Heck, if the polls are even close to correct, Marco would appear to be kaput.
However, if you're hoping for an exit speech this evening, Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum has some bad news for you...(see image below)
There are two possibilities here.
The first is that this is pre-primary bluster. Rubio obviously knows the challenge he's facing and he's putting his best foot forward until the votes are cast. That's to be commended. There's a lot to be said for "going down swinging." Never offer your opponents a premature surrender.
The second is that Rubio really intends to stay in this thing, acting as the GOP elite's spoiler against Trump and Cruz. Basically, he'd move ahead as a sort of failed 'zombie candidate.' He'd be incapable of winning on his own merits, but he might be able to help prevent Trump (and to a lesser extent Cruz) from doing the same. The endgame here is to hope for a career resuscitation via a brokered convention. This, as I've argued in the past, would all but guarantee Hillary Clinton would be your next President.
So, let's hope this is all just Rubio trying to keep his chin up until the last vote is cast. Despite his various missteps, we still like the guy. We'd hate to think he's joined the ranks of those who'd prefer "President Hillary" to a GOPelite defeat.
BREAKING: @marcorubio it was never about one state and he will continue on after tonite. Says the party will never coalesce around Trump.
