Marco Rubio looks toward Florida as results trickle in from four other states
As results began to trickle in from primaries and caucuses in four states on Tuesday night, Marco Rubio held an election night rally in Florida, which he hopes to win when it holds its primary a week from now.
"It always comes down to Florida, doesn't it?" the Florida senator told his supporters. "And it will this year. Not once, but twice."
Rubio added, "It starts a week from tonight," but then clarified that Sunshine State voters have already begun casting their ballots through the early voting process.
He held the rally before full results from primaries in Michigan and Mississippi came in as well as those from the Idaho and Hawaii caucuses. Rubio warned that there's a lot at stake in the 2016 presidential election.
"In this election, it is not just a choice between candidates. We are deciding the definition of what it means to be a conservative in the 21st century," he said. "We are deciding our identity as a nation and as a people."
Rubio touted his plans to roll back regulations, balance the federal budget, reform the tax code and repeal and replace Obamacare.
"Our next president must be someone who is willing to undo all of the damage that Barack Obama has done and craft a new path for America's future," he added.
Rubio has been banking on winning his home state in the winner-take-all primary next Tuesday. Trump, however, has been leading the GOP pack there in several recent polls. A Monmouth University survey released Monday found the race had been tightening with 38 percent of GOP primary voters in Florida backing Trump and 30 percent supporting Rubio.
This comes as Rubio dismissed rumors Tuesday about him dropping out before the March 15 primary next week.