DES MOINES — Exceeding expectations, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio sounded an optimistic note after his campaign landed well within the top three Republican presidential contenders among Iowans Monday night.
As Rubio took the stage, he sat in third place only 1.5 percentage points behind businessman Donald Trump for second place, whom Rubio did not mention in his speech, and five points behind Sen. Ted Cruz, who pulled out an Iowa victory after falling behind in polling during the last week of the race. Rubio is third in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, while Cruz and Trump are second and first, respectively.
A triumphant Rubio told supporters at the downtown Des Moines Marriott that the result shows that voters, like him, are not willing to stand pat any longer and wait their turn.
“This is the moment they said that’d never happen!” Rubio opened to cheers. “They told me I needed to wait my turn — that I needed to wait in line. But tonight here in Iowa, the people of this great state of sent a very clear message: After seven years of Barack Obama, we are not waiting any longer to take our country back!”
Throughout the speech, Rubio stuck broadly to parts of his stump speech, while continuing to frame the election as not a normal one by any stretch of the imagination.
“This is no ordinary election. 2016 is not just a choice between two political parties. 2016 is a referendum,” Rubio said. “In America, there are only two ways forward for us now: we can either be greater than we’ve ever been or we can be a great nation in decline.”
Rubio admitted that his campaign team was surprised by the returns, with that sentiment echoed by one of his top surrogates moments after the senator wrapped up his speech.
“I’m excited where he is. I agree with Marco — nobody thought we’d be here tonight with the numbers where we’re at. It’s beyond expectations and a very good thing,” Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner told the Washington Examiner. “I think what you’ll see is a realization that this race isn’t over. It’s not just between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. This is a real race with somebody that’s come in with a full head of momentum into New Hampshire.”
Rubio and his campaign had dampened expectations leading into caucus day, with him repeatedly arguing that Cruz was the clear front-runner in Iowa. However, Rubio now is focusing squarely on the road ahead.
“We will see you soon [Iowa], and New Hampshire we will see you in the morning!” Rubio ended his speech.
