Marco Rubio was in contention for another second place finish Tuesday night, but left Nevada still searching for his first win.
The Florida senator had hoped his childhood ties to the state plus organizational advantages in a caucus would give him a good opportunity to overperform in Nevada, although front-runner Donald Trump has long led in the polls.
With 100 percent reporting, Rubio had 23.85 percent of the vote, and Cruz had 21.38 percent, a difference of less than 2,000 votes. If that result holds, it would be Rubio’s second consecutive second-place finish, a result that has many analysts wondering what state Rubio can chalk up a win.
Rubio was the only one of the top three GOP candidates in the race to not make comments following the Nevada results. After an event in Las Vegas early Tuesday, Rubio spent the rest of his day campaigning in Minnesota and Michigan, where he spent the night. He is set to campaign in Texas on Wednesday.
Fox News’ John Roberts reported that shortly after Fox News declared Donald Trump the winner of the Nevada caucuses, Rubio would make no appearance tonight.
“Nothing else tonight, in fact the senator has gone to bed,” Roberts reported. “He’s got an early start tomorrow.”
Since his second place finish in the Palmetto State and Jeb Bush’s subsequent exit from the race, Rubio has racked up endorsements from all comers, including five U.S. Senators, 11 members of the House and a governor.
Ahead of Tuesday’s caucuses, Rubio made a handful of stops throughout the state, where was joined by the likes of Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Rick Harrison of “Pawn Stars.”
Rubio will set his sights on Super Tuesday, when 13 states and 595 delegates are up for grabs. Throughout the week, Rubio is set to make stops in Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas, where the GOP will hold their next debate in Houston on Thursday.
Campaign spokesman Alex Conant tweeted that Rubio will appear on a slate of morning shows in a few hours time.
