Marco Rubio's presidential campaign is over. Following a resounding loss in his home state of Florida, Rubio suspended his campaign, seeing no further opportunity in the upcoming primaries and caucuses. At the start of Rubio's campaign, his appeal was evident, attracting support from younger voters and voters with college degrees, as well as drawing support from Catholic and minority communities. However, Rubio's grasp on the support of younger voters weakened and his appeal to male voters shrank following Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's entry into the Republican presidential election. But why did once faithful Rubio supporters suddenly decide that Trump should represent the Republican Party in the general election?
The primary reason for Republican voters' change in allegiance from Marco Rubio to Donald Trump is the Republican Party's transformation from a party of implication to a party of explication. After years of implied discrimination through policies proposed to disadvantage minorities, women, and impoverished groups, as well as using euphemistic language as a means to mask bigotry, the Republican Party has, under the influence of Trump, moved towards the use of explicitly bigoted language in order to promote a discriminatory agenda. Throughout his campaign, Rubio continued to use euphemistic and implicit language in order to promote his agenda, which proved unappealing to Republican voters, seeking a demagogue, like Trump, who uses explicit language to promote his agenda.
Upon close examination on key topics in this election cycle such as: immigration, abortion, and gun laws, both candidates have nearly identical positions, expressed using entirely different language. Senator Rubio stressed the importance of maintaining a secure border by saying, "Before we do anything with immigration, we are going to secure the border.” Trump has expressed a similar view on immigration, although the language he has used has been drastically different. In a speech discussing the border between the United States and Mexico and immigration reform, Trump stated, “These are people that shouldn't be in our country. They flow in like water.” Rubio's vague language directly contrasts with Trump's direct statement, which has shown to be appealing to Republican voters in the 2016 presidential election.
Yet the main factor leading to Rubio's failure to attract voters is his lack of anger. In addition to a desire for explicit, offensive, and violent language, Republican voters have expressed a longing for an angry candidate, who shares the same displeasure that they feel. In past Republican presidential debates, Rubio stated, "I know you're angry; I'm angry too," but his rhetoric never conveyed the sense of anger that Republican voters pined for and Trump has exploited and thrived off of.
Finally, Rubio's emphatic loss in the Florida Republican primary may be indicative of a precipitous decline in his popularity among residents of the state. In his home state of Florida, Rubio was only able to win in one county (Miami-Dade County), while Trump secured a victory in all 66 other county primaries. According to the final polling results, Trump acquired 440,568 more votes than Rubio, who relied heavily on his win in the population dense Miami-Dade County, inflating his overall total of votes.
The collapse of Rubio's presidential campaign is indicative of the transformation that is currently happening in the Republican Party. Republican voters have expressed their desire for explicit discrimination as opposed to euphemistic discrimination and have shown their longing for an angry and violent candidate.
ZWG
The primary reason for Republican voters' change in allegiance from Marco Rubio to Donald Trump is the Republican Party's transformation from a party of implication to a party of explication. After years of implied discrimination through policies proposed to disadvantage minorities, women, and impoverished groups, as well as using euphemistic language as a means to mask bigotry, the Republican Party has, under the influence of Trump, moved towards the use of explicitly bigoted language in order to promote a discriminatory agenda. Throughout his campaign, Rubio continued to use euphemistic and implicit language in order to promote his agenda, which proved unappealing to Republican voters, seeking a demagogue, like Trump, who uses explicit language to promote his agenda.
Upon close examination on key topics in this election cycle such as: immigration, abortion, and gun laws, both candidates have nearly identical positions, expressed using entirely different language. Senator Rubio stressed the importance of maintaining a secure border by saying, "Before we do anything with immigration, we are going to secure the border.” Trump has expressed a similar view on immigration, although the language he has used has been drastically different. In a speech discussing the border between the United States and Mexico and immigration reform, Trump stated, “These are people that shouldn't be in our country. They flow in like water.” Rubio's vague language directly contrasts with Trump's direct statement, which has shown to be appealing to Republican voters in the 2016 presidential election.
Yet the main factor leading to Rubio's failure to attract voters is his lack of anger. In addition to a desire for explicit, offensive, and violent language, Republican voters have expressed a longing for an angry candidate, who shares the same displeasure that they feel. In past Republican presidential debates, Rubio stated, "I know you're angry; I'm angry too," but his rhetoric never conveyed the sense of anger that Republican voters pined for and Trump has exploited and thrived off of.
Finally, Rubio's emphatic loss in the Florida Republican primary may be indicative of a precipitous decline in his popularity among residents of the state. In his home state of Florida, Rubio was only able to win in one county (Miami-Dade County), while Trump secured a victory in all 66 other county primaries. According to the final polling results, Trump acquired 440,568 more votes than Rubio, who relied heavily on his win in the population dense Miami-Dade County, inflating his overall total of votes.
The collapse of Rubio's presidential campaign is indicative of the transformation that is currently happening in the Republican Party. Republican voters have expressed their desire for explicit discrimination as opposed to euphemistic discrimination and have shown their longing for an angry and violent candidate.
ZWG