Rubio falters again as Trump extends his lead.

(Photo: Richard Carson/Reuters)

MIAMI – Marco Rubio jumped on to a stage in front of a few thousand wildly cheering supporters at an open-air equestrian center Tuesday night, pumped his right fist twice, and bragged that he has been rising in the polls since he started aggressively going after Donald Trump.

“We are seeing in state after state his numbers going down. We are seeing in state after state, our numbers going up,” Rubio said.

The boast came about as close to ignoring reality as a politician can get. Eleven states held primary elections or caucuses Tuesday night, and Rubio lost all but one. He gained his first victory of the entire primary process so far in the Minnesota caucuses, a result announced an hour before midnight.

Now, with one-third of the total delegates that determine the GOP’s nominee awarded, the 44-year-old U.S. senator from Florida trails Trump and fellow Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the delegate race. But far more pressing for Rubio is his momentum problem. He has almost none, and worse, Tuesday marked the third time in the primaries that he has appeared to have some wind in his sails, only to run aground when the votes are cast.

Cruz, a 45-year-old first-term senator, won the surprise contest of the night, beating Trump 34 percent to 28 percent in Oklahoma, with Rubio finishing at 26 percent. In addition to winning his home state of Texas, Cruz emerged as the winner of the ongoing sweepstakes to be the alternative to Trump.


Cruz crowed that his was “the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat and that will beat Donald Trump.”

Trump, 69, continued to write his own script, holding a press conference rather than a victory rally, and conducting it in a room at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., that bears a resemblance to the East Room of the White House. No one has ever accused Donald Trump of subtlety.

With New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie standing behind him, Trump congratulated Cruz on his win in Texas, and quickly pivoted to his next point: how he wants to unite the Republican Party to defeat the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

“I’m a unifier. I know people are going to find that a little hard to believe. But I am a unifier,” Trump said. “We’re going to be more inclusive. I think we’re going to be more unified.”

Trump declared that he is “becoming diplomatic” and delved into the details of how to deal with the Syrian civil war, seeking to project a more presidential air than he has as a candidate so far. It was difficult for him to stay in character as a peacemaker for long. Asked whether he would be able to work with Congress and with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Trump said that he expects he could “get along great with him.”

“And if I don’t, he’s going to have to pay a big price, OK?” he continued.

Trump argued that he is expanding the Republican Party by attracting Democratic and Independent voters, and there is some evidence that this is the case. However, in the one state that did not allow Democrats to vote in the GOP primary on Tuesday, Oklahoma, Trump lost to Cruz.

Rubio, meanwhile, was left to ponder another setback. After a higher-than expected finish in the Iowa caucuses, he was poised to capture the anti-Trump wing of the GOP in New Hampshire, but was sidelined by a disastrous debate performance a few days before voters went to the polls and finished sixth in that primary.


By Jon Ward.
Culled from Yahoo News.