IOWA CAUCUSES

Marco Rubio: Iowa's support sends 'clear message'

Mackenzie Ryan
mryan@dmreg.com
Senator Marco Rubio speaks at his campaign party in the Iowa Ballroom at the Marriott in downtown Des Moines, Monday, Feb. 1, 2016.

It was “the moment they said would never happen,” Marco Rubio said after a strong third-place finish in the Iowa caucus on Monday, one narrowly behind Donald Trump’s second place.

“Tonight here in Iowa, the people of this great state have sent a very clear message,” Rubio said as the crowd cheered during a celebration at the Marriott in downtown Des Moines. “After seven years of Barack Obama, we are not waiting any longer.”

With his wife, Jeanette, and their four children by his side, Rubio thanked “the all-powerful and mighty God.”

And he promised to unite the Republican Party and grow the conservative movement as he continued in the presidential primary race.

“New Hampshire, we will see you in the morning!” Rubio said.

Supporters were excited by Rubio’s third-place finish, including Claudia Peyton, a 57-year-old homemaker and volunteer from Urbandale. “I’m very optimistic,” she said. “It feels like second place.”

Several in the crowd said they volunteered for a last-minute campaign push on Monday, the day of the caucus. For many, it was the first time they volunteered to canvass neighborhoods, make calls and reach out to friends on Facebook.

“It’s really exciting,” said Antonio Banuelos, an IT analyst who volunteered Monday. “We were hoping he would do better … but it’s going to give him momentum.”

The effort may have helped Rubio exceed expectations predicted by Saturday’s Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll by several points. The poll estimated his support here at 15 percent.

Long seen as an “establishment” front-runner, Rubio emerged with a refined message in the last six weeks of his Iowa campaign — one that put more emphasis on his Christian faith and his “anti-establishment” credentials.

The first-term Florida senator emerged on the national scene in 2010 after winning a three-way race against a Republican governor who ran as an independent. He previously served as Florida’s speaker of the House.

Dogging Rubio throughout his campaign, including the final GOP debate Thursday in Des Moines, have been questions on his immigration stance.

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He was part of the so-called Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group of four Republican and four Democratic senators that offered a comprehensive immigration bill in 2013.

Rubio also was for not campaigning enough in Iowa. But as the caucus neared, he spent more time here — holding more events in the last two months than the previous seven. In total, Rubio held 100 events over 48 days this cycle.

On the Iowa stump, Rubio often highlighted his roots as the son of Cuban immigrants who worked as a bartender and maid, speaking passionately about the American dream.

His platform focused on improving the economy, reforming higher education and taking a hawkish approach to foreign policy. And after the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Paris, Rubio emphasized how he’d defeat ISIS.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, Rubio’s campaign raised $14 million but spent nearly $14.8 million; he ended 2015 with about $10.4 million cash on hand.

In total, he has raised about $39.5 million and spent $29.7 million through the end of 2015, according to FEC filings.