Marco Rubio suspends campaign that was marked with problems from the start. SHOWS: JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 14, 2016) (NBC- BROADCASTER: NO ACCESS USA AND CNN / DIGITAL: FOR BROADCAST CLIENTS USE ONLY, NO ACCESS INTERNET, MOBILE, WIRELESS) Marco Rubio had all that you need in a Republican presidential candidate: fluency on the issues, a conservative outlook, crossover appeal as a Cuban-American, and youthful good looks. But in an election year when anyone associated with the Republican establishment is seen as tainted, Rubio ended his campaign after New York real estate mogul Donald Trump won the coveted primary, or nominating contest, in Rubio's home state of Florida on Tuesday (March 15). Rubio attempted to position himself as a new-age Republican, the son of Cuban immigrants who was able to connect with everyday voters with tales of his hard-luck upbringing. He also tried to appeal to America's growing Hispanic population to help boost his party's chances of claiming victory in the Nov. 8 election. On the eve of his Florida rout, Rubio was still expressing supreme confidence. "Tomorrow is the day, tomorrow is the day when we are going to shock the country and we are going to do what needs to be done. We are going to win the 99 delegates in Florida and it's going to give us the momentum we need to go into Arizona and Utah." For some, the roots of Rubio's problems can be traced back further to an icy afternoon in Washington on Jan. 28, 2013. That is when he held a news conference with three Democratic senators and a Republican on Capitol Hill to launch immigration reforms. The legislation, sponsored by what became known as a bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators, would have created a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, but only if steps were taken to secure the U.S. southern border with Mexico and strengthen visa tracking. Rubio had already faced conservative anger when flirting with immigration reform a year earlier, when he proposed a path to citizenship for young people who came to the country illegally but would join the military. The "Gang of Eight" bill ran into similar resistance. As Rubio distanced himself from it, Hispanic groups faulted him for giving up. In a Republican primary race where Trump has thrilled many conservatives by vowing to deport immigrants and build a wall on the Mexican border, Rubio's involvement in the legislation and sudden abandonment of it haunted his 2016 campaign. "I mean, you have this clown, Marco Rubio. I've been so nice to him. But he's in favor of immigration and he has been. It was the 'Gang of Eight', and you remember the 'Gang of Eight'? It was terrible," Donald Trump said on the campaign trail. It was the centerpiece of attack ads by his rivals and the independent fundraising groups supporting them. At the start of Rubio's campaign, his advisers wanted to run a campaign focused on Fox News appearances or on other cable networks, rather than spend a lot of time in small towns in Iowa and New Hampshire. So Rubio made a strategic gamble. He would try to save time and money by making strategic stops in those states rather than carpet-bomb them with multiple visits. Rubio's gamble backfired. Republican activists in Iowa complained he was largely absent from the state for long stretches. He only made an all-out push in the late stages of the race. Throughout the campaign, Rubio has battled perceptions that he does not work hard enough. But for Rubio, missing votes on the Senate floor dovetailed with the narrative that was building on the trail. If he was not in the Senate and was not on the trail, where was he? Cruz won Iowa's caucuses on Feb. 1 with Trump second. Rubio's third-place finish was seen as something of a victory by his camp, but Republicans in the state were not so sure. Rubio heard similar complaints in New Hampshire. He spent just 28 days campaigning there, about half as much as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and a fraction of the some 70 days that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Ohio Governor John Kasich were there. Rubio faced another problem: a perception that he could only muster well-worn talking points - "robot" Rubio some protesters and rival candidate Chris Christie dubbed him. Rubio never quite recovered. Trump's unrelenting dominance of the media spotlight made it hard for rivals to shine. But Rubio's decision, starting with a debate in Houston on Feb. 25, to try to match Trump insult for insult was cited by voters as another wrong move. "'Lightweight Marco Rubio was working hard last night.' This is true. 'The problem is, he is a chocker, and once a chocker, always a choker' -- I guess that's what he meant to say. He spelled choker 'c-h-o-k-e-r' (pronounces it chaw-ker). He called me 'Mr. Meltdown'," Rubio said during a campaign appearance in which he quoted Trump's Twitter posts.

• published: 21 Mar 2016
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