Who will be the GOP’s anti-Trump, anti-Cruz candidate – promising to unite the party and, more importantly, beat the Democratic nominee in November?
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida became the most-likely-to-succeed Wednesday, winning the endorsement of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley.
But with Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas holding first and second in most S.C. polls, seizing the third-place ticket out of South Carolina could be the best hope for Rubio — and the other GOP candidates — to remain viable.
And third may not be enough.
Saturday’s primary could be the last shot for a mainstream GOP candidate to break out, preventing the nomination of an anti-establishment candidate — Trump, who won New Hampshire, or Cruz, who won Iowa. Party elders fear either would fare poorly in the general election.
“South Carolina is huge for the Republicans,” at least those hoping to avoid an anti-establishment candidate winning the nomination, said Scott Buchanan, a political scientist at The Citadel.
“If Rubio doesn't make it into second, I'm hard pressed to see how long his candidacy can be viable.”
Polling third in most recent S.C. surveys, Rubio faces competition from others to be the anti-Trump, anti-Cruz, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
But a third-place finish could spell doom for any Republican who wants to be the mainstream alternative to Trump or Cruz.
“If he (Rubio) were to come in third in South Carolina” – after third in Iowa, then sliding in New Hampshire – “that's not a harbinger of good things for Rubio or for the Republican establishment,” Buchanan said. Read more.
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