Rubio is out; he couldn't win his home state of Florida.
Neither could the other Republicans who are out so far. Not only Rubio couldn't carry Florida, where he was born and raised, but Jeb Bush couldn't carry it either. Ben Carson couldn't carry Florida (he lives there) OR his native state of Michigan. Chris Christie couldn't carry his home state of New Jersey, not after his handling of Hurricane Sandy, Bridge-gate, the pension fund fiasco, and the nine drops of the state credit rating. Scott Walker couldn't carry his home state of Wisconsin, with his corrupt governance, notably his campaign manager getting millions of state $ for his sports facility; last election cycle, Paul Ryan lost Wisconsin, and is unlikely to be able to carry it this time if he is drafted in a brokered convention. Bobby Jindal couldn't carry his home state of Louisiana - and was so unpopular, it is possible he ran for office only as a graceful out from his badly failed state office. Rick Santorum has never been able to carry Pennsylvania in his runs for president. I doubt from the polls that Mike Huckster-bee could carry Arkansas either. In the previous election cycle, neither Tim Pawlenty or Michele Bachmann could win Minnesota either.
And it looks as if Donald Trump, in spite of his winning elsewhere, can't win in New York.
It is pretty much a given that a candidate, any serious candidate, has to be able to win their own home state. And ALL of those candidates KNEW going into the race, that they were unlikely to change their popularity sufficiently to carry their home states. Which raises the question, were they ever REALLY seriously candidates, or were they just in it to make money in some way, using election law?Hillary Clinton would crush Donald Trump in a New York State general election matchup: poll
Pretty much the situation is that NONE of the other candidates who were even nominally in the race on the right could have carried their own states, if you go down the entire list. Which is a short way of saying that where they know you, REALLY know you, they don't like you.
The Week summed it up:
Is Ben Carson's campaign one big con?
Ben Carson's presidential campaign is many things. A curiosity, an oddity, a fascinating yet disturbing commentary on today's Republican Party? Absolutely. But there's also some reason to believe that it's a giant confidence game.
That isn't to say that Carson isn't genuinely trying to become president. He has even moved into the lead in a couple of recent national polls. But the inner workings of his campaign will look awfully familiar to those who understand how one right-wing movement has been bilking gullible conservatives over the last half-century.
...As conservative radio host Erick Erickson says, "Carson's actual expenditure list reads like a wealthy Republican getting played by consultants."
While Donald Trump keeps claiming he is funding his own campaign, the reality is that he is also seeking donors. He isn't paying for his own campaign out of his pocket, he is LOANING his campaign funds, which are repaid out of donations. Trump is running on suckers' money. In different ways that might be the case for the majority of the rest of the GOP candidates, and has been for some time now, given the reality of their unfavorables.
Conservatives, with their opposition to campaign finance laws, such as their support for Citizens United, have made democracy into one big con game to fleece conservative donors and to sell out the country to special interests, all while patting themselves on the back for their piety and rectitude.
