MIAMI (AP) – Donald Trump is a part-time Florida resident – and a full-time problem for the home-state senator running for president, Marco Rubio.
Rubio is counting on Florida to reshape the Republican contest that Trump has dominated by winning three of the first four states to vote. A loss in Florida on March 15 could doom Rubio’s chances, his campaign acknowledges.
“We’re going to be fine in Florida,” Rubio said aboard his campaign plane this week. “I feel very good. We know how to run and win campaigns in Florida.”
Trump has a different assessment. When he spoke at a mega-rally last month in Pensacola, he expressed surprise at how well he seemed to be doing in the state.
This week, Florida has sent a wave of support toward Rubio, replete with endorsements from politicians and campaign cash from donors. And Rubio directly took on Trump in Thursday’s debate in Houston, a strong performance that had his senior strategist Todd Harris declaring afterward: “We are going to win Florida. Take it to the bank.”