Miami Herald endorses Marco Rubio
The Miami Herald has endorsedMarco Rubio for president, giving the Florida senator a modest boost in his home state after 24 hours of tough headlines.
“As the pivotal Florida primary on March 15 draws near, Floridians should not be stampeded into thinking that it’s all over,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote in an editorial on Wednesday night.
“In the Republican race, in particular, they have an opportunity to change the course of a deeply discouraging — even embarrassing — campaign narrative by boosting the chances of native son Marco Rubio, the best remaining candidate with a mostly positive message and a practical chance to win the nomination.”
The endorsement follows Rubio’s poor performance on Super Tuesday, where he won only the Minnesota caucuses and failed to make the 20 percent threshold for winning delegates in several other states.
“We disagree with the Cuban-American senator on many issues — abortion, gun control, Obamacare, climate change, diplomacy with Cuba, and have frowned upon his frequent absences in the Senate,” the board writes. “Still, he does not occupy the same extremist terrain proudly claimed by Sen. Ted Cruz.”
The Herald also sees Rubio as “the best choice to unite a fractured GOP.”
“His Senate colleagues, especially Republicans, respect him — not so with Mr. Cruz,” the editorial continues. “Among Republican voters who have made up their minds at the last minute, Sen. Rubio is by far the favorite, suggesting that he is the candidate of choice for the most thoughtful.”
The board agrees with the conventional wisdom that Florida is do-or-die for Rubio, but argues that winning the state could turn his fortunes around.
“Without a victory, he’s out,” the endorsement reads. “His sole triumph in the Minnesota caucuses is a thin reed upon which to hang the rest of the campaign, but a first-place finish in Florida could put the wind to his back.”
Donald Trump leads Rubio by nearly 20 percentage points in the latest RealClearPolitics averageof state polls.