Trying to catch businessman Donald Trump in the Sunshine State, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., made his final pitch to Florida Republicans on Monday.
Insisting “it’s too close to call” despite polls showing Trump in the lead, Rubio maintained that his ground game made the Sunshine State competitive.
“The momentum for our campaign on the ground in Florida has grown exponentially and is contagious,” Rubio insisted on Monday. “Floridians know that Donald Trump doesn’t have the answers our nation needs -- in fact, his divisive, angry rhetoric is just the opposite. We cannot let him hijack our conservative movement.
“I said this weekend that Donald Trump’s campaign has our country coming apart at the seams, and we cannot let that happen,” Rubio added. “Stopping Donald Trump comes down to what happens in Florida tomorrow night.”
With Rubio’s presidential campaign hinging on Florida, he showed no signs of lowering the stakes on Monday.
“It may sound drastic, but it’s the truth: The future of our country and our party rest on the voters in Florida tomorrow," Rubio insisted. “This is our chance to take our country back and stop Donald Trump.”
Rubio also scheduled a busy day on the campaign trail on Monday. Starting in Jacksonville, Rubio planned to cross the Sunshine State with appearances scheduled in Melbourne and West Palm Beach before closing the day with an event in Miami on Monday night.
The polls show Rubio is behind Trump. On Monday, Quinnipiac University released a poll showing Trump poised to win the winner take all primary, claiming all 99 delegates up for grabs in Florida. Trump garnered 46 percent followed by Rubio with 22 percent, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in third with 14 percent and Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, with 10 percent.
"At least when it comes to this presidential primary, Florida might change its nickname from Sunshine State to Landslide State," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "Sen. Marco Rubio, who has staked his future on wining his home state, looks like he'll soon be toast. He trails GOP leader Donald Trump by more than 20 points with polling through Sunday night.
"There are very few examples of candidates making up that much ground in 24 hours,” Brown added.
The poll of 615 likely Florida primary voters was taken from March 8-March 13 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
