Sen. Marco Rubio's vision of how the upcoming Republican presidential primary will play out in his home state of Florida is rather optimistic, especially given recent polling.
A new CNN/ORC poll out Wednesday reveals that Donald Trump trounces Rubio in Florida, with 40 percent to Rubio's 24 percent, less than a week ahead of the March 15 primary. Rubio's campaign, however, remains convinced their candidate is a winner, with Communications Director Alex Conant dismissing all talk of an impending loss:
The poll comes on the heels of Rubio's devastating losses in Tuesday's races, which intensified rumors that the Florida senator will soon be dropping out. Rubio failed to win even one delegate in Michigan and Mississippi Tuesday, keeping his number of winning states at two out of the 24 contests held thus far. In Idaho and Hawaii, he came in third.
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And yet, Rubio remains positive — or possibly in denial. "It has to happen here," Rubio said Tuesday of his upcoming home state race. "It has to happen now."
The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 5.5 percentage points among Republicans. Rubio's margin of error is to be determined.