What state will Marco Rubio win?

The Washington Post

Mainstream Republican donors and elected officials flocked to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Monday amid a growing sense that he is the last best chance to prevent Donald Trump from running away with the Republican nomination.

But Rubio’s path remains narrow and perilous. He has yet to win a state, and a raft of major March 1 contests known as “Super Tuesday” offers few obvious chances for him to do so. And if Trump keeps racking up wins, it will become more difficult to blunt his progress.

Increasingly, there is a recognition among Republican elites that if Trump is not slowed by the middle of March, it may be too late to prevent him from winning the nomination.

“The window is closing, and we need to move now,” said Bobbie Kilberg, a major Republican donor who lined up behind Rubio after former Florida governor Jeb Bush ended his campaign on Saturday.

Fielding questions from reporters here Monday morning, Rubio didn’t predict any imminent victories.

Hot off the heels of a South Carolina victory, Donald Trump is casting a long shadow over the GOP party. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are battling hard to emerge as a candidate who can defeat Trump heading into the Nevada caucus and Super Tuesday. (Alice Li/The Washington Post)

“We look forward to continuing to add delegates to our count, and as we get into the winner-take-all states I think we’re going to be in a very strong position,” he said.

Bush’s departure from the race has armed Rubio with a much-needed injection of establishment money and structural support. Those who sided with Bush or were reluctant to cross him now feel free to back Rubio.

GOP candidates chart different paths ahead of Super Tuesday

Throughout Monday, a string of ex-Bush backers from across the country gravitated to the Florida senator, including former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). In South Florida, Republican Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Curbelo and former congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart — all of whom had backed Bush — also announced their support.

Rubio also picked up supporters who previously stood in the sidelines of the race, like former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

On the donor side, in addition to Kilberg, former ambassador Francis Rooney, who gave more than $2 million to a pro-Bush super PAC through his holding company, is now with Rubio. So is financial industry executive Muneer Satter, who also made a big investment on behalf of Bush.