LF: Marco the ultimate optimist: After losing in all but one state so far he says there is no way TRUMP can win

Title: Marco the ultimate optimist: After losing in all but one state so far he says there is no way TRUMP can win
Source: Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... far-says-no-way-TRUMP-win.html
Published: Mar 2, 2016
Author: Nikki Schwab, U.S. Political Reporter Fo
Post Date: 2016-03-02 18:34:41 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 638
Comments: 3

After losing every state except one to GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio suggested the delegate math was in his favor over the brash billionaire's.

'I think the question is how does Donald Trump get to 1,237 delegates?' Rubio told NBC News last night.

Rubio explained to Chuck Todd – who suggested there was no way for the Florida senator to take the nomination now unless there was a brokered convention – that usually the party calls on the other candidates to come behind the frontrunning candidate and throw their delegates his way.

'That's not going to happen with Donald Trump, no one is going to call for us to get behind him,' Rubio said. 'They know the nomination of Donald Trump means the end of the modern conservative movement and the end of the modern Republican party in a very devastating way.'

'People are saying you have to fight on because what's at stake is the soul of the Republican party,' Rubio added.

The Florida senator won just one state last night, while Trump commanded Super Tuesday by winning seven and Sen. Ted Cruz received three.

Since delegates from these states are doled out to candidates proportionally, Rubio argued that he's not that far behind.

Rubio told Todd that the math only gets better for his campaign.

'I think especially once we get to the winner-take-all phase the math gets a lot friendlier for us especially as the race narrows down,' Rubio said.

The candidate was looking ahead to the March 15 primaries when Florida, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio all vote and each state's delegates are all assigned to the winner of that state.

North Carolina also votes, but those delegates are divvied up proportionally.

Rubio said in recent days that he would win his home state of Florida, but polls indicate otherwise.

The Real Clear Politics polling average has Trump ahead of Rubio by 19.5 points.

And with Ohio Gov. John Kasich still in the race, it might be difficult for Rubio to pick up Ohio.

Rubio argued on NBC that his shift in tone was working.

Since last Thursday's GOP debate, he's taunted Trump at every turn, after spending eight months playing nice with the businessman.

'We've only had five days to explain to people what a con artist Donald Trump is,' he explained.

Rubio pointed to his second place finish in the swing state of Virginia as proof this new strategy is working.

'In fact, in the state of Virginia, a state where we were trailing by 15 points in the last polls that were taken, we basically have as many delegates as Donald Trump has at the end of the night,' Rubio boasted.

When Rubio slid over to CNN, the network's Jake Tapper didn't believe the spin.

'You're talking about Virginia, and that's another state Donald Trump won. And I'm just wondering if there's a certain amount of denial that you're in about this race?' Tapper asked.

Rubio scoffed and said no.

'You know this is about delegate count.' Rubio replied.

Also on CNN, Rubio said he felt his campaign was starting to 'catch fire' and so he would not be dropping out of the race as Cruz suggested.

During Cruz's victory speech, which took place in his home state of Texas, the first state the senator wrapped up last night, he called on others in the race to pull out because a 'divided' field would only strengthen Trump's bid.

'And after tonight we have seen that our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat and that will beat Donald Trump,' Cruz claimed, before Rubio won Minnesota.

Rubio suggested that Cruz's performance was actually underwhelming.

'Tonight was supposed to be Ted Cruz's big night, not a night where he won two states, he was supposed to have that Southern firewall and it didn't happen,' Rubio said.

Cruz had indeed hoped to pick up Southern states with high numbers of evangelical voters, but that plan began falling apart when he was bested by Trump in South Carolina.

Cruz had relied on the strength of his 'SEC state' strategy to propel him to the nomination.

Tonight, it failed him as Alabama and Georgia went to his biggest rival.

For Rubio, this looked like a win.

'We are going to be in this race even if it takes 50 states and every territory,' Rubio said defiantly during a late night interview on CNN.