Marco Rubio just got crushed in 2 states
REUTERS/Steve Nesius
Marco Rubio did not have a good night.
The Florida senator, one of four Republicans still in the race for the party's presidential nomination, is losing badly in the Michigan and Mississippi primaries.
Real-estate developer Donald Trump easily won both states.
And Rubio fell far behind two other GOP candidates — Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — whom he is battling to become the clear alternative to Trump.
Rubio was on track to miss the threshold for accumulating delegates in both states. He had snagged less than 5% of the vote in Mississippi with almost 90% of precincts reporting and about 9% of the vote in Michigan with 56% of precincts reporting, as of 10:25 p.m. ET.
Trump has been the clear Republican frontrunner for months, and the party's establishment is now frantically scheming to stop him from winning the nomination. Rubio was long thought to be a viable, establishment-friendly alternative to Trump, but his campaign has sputtered as he has attempted to take on Trump directly.
The two have faced off repeatedly since Rubio ramped up attacks on Trump at a debate last month, but Rubio's strategy of mimicking Trump's insults doesn't seem to have worked out for him.
CNN reported that Rubio's campaign is now hoping to win delegates in Idaho and Hawaii, which also hold their nominating contests on Tuesday.