Publicly, Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential campaign says it is competing to win the first four Republican presidential nominating contests in Iowa (Feb. 1), New Hampshire (Feb. 9), South Carolina (Feb. 20), and Nevada (Feb. 23), but the Florida senator's team also tells the Palm Beach Post that Rubio doesn't need to win any of those primaries or caucuses to win the nomination. History isn't on Rubio's side — no GOP nominee in the post-1968 presidential nomination era lost both Iowa and New Hampshire, and Rubio is down by at least 10 percentage points in both those states.
But the Rubio campaign is also right on the math — numerically, he doesn't need any of those states to win. "In a field this big I think we're going to be competing in March regardless of what happens in February," Rubio spokesman Alex Conant tells the Post. Some experts are sympathetic to the idea. "If you believe that an establishment candidate will win, at the moment it doesn't look like it will come from Iowa or New Hampshire," says University of Minnesota primaries number-cruncher Eric Ostermeier.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in musicunder the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billionSpeed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
