What's Rubio's path to the nomination?

[Senator Cris]

?

[Maxwell]

He'd have to have an amazing comeback and win South Carolina and Nevada. Not gonna happen. Rubio's goose is cooked.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

He has none.

[Mike Thick]

He'd have to have an amazing comeback and win South Carolina and Nevada. Not gonna happen. Rubio's goose is cooked.

[Broken System]

He has one big slip up which is holding him down. Obviously he will be asked about it at the next debate. That will be his one opportunity to bring his campaign back on solid footing. If he can't properly explain himself, he is doomed.

[Xing]

His only plausible path is to decisively win Nevada, and do better than expected in South Carolina. If he has the same momentum going into Super Tuesday that he did after Iowa, there might be a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, he's probably done.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Exceed expectations (significantly) in South Carolina.

[CatoMinor]

Drop out, endorse either Bush or Kasich, become the VP nominee, and then run again in either 2020 or 2024.

[HilLarry]

Non-existent

[Maxwell]

He has one big slip up which is holding him down. Obviously he will be asked about it at the next debate. That will be his one opportunity to bring his campaign back on solid footing. If he can't properly explain himself, he is doomed.

He had the big slip up at the worst possible time - when all the eyes were on him.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Rubio's biggest obstacle is now Bush. How he could get past Bush is anyone's guess at this point, let alone Trump or Cruz. I was playing around with the RCP delegate tool and couldn't find a scenario I thought was plausible.

I really feel bad for the guy, and I'm not just saying that as a supporter. It's like being in fourth or fifth throughout the entire Indy 500, finally start making a break for first with a few laps to go, and then popping a tire and spinning out. Just sad. I'm sticking with him for now but will go Cruz if Rubio becomes a joke-tier candidate or drops out.

[Ebsy]

I disagree, let's dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn't know what he is doing. He knows exactly what he is doing.

[ElectionsGuy]

If he doesn't get a top three showing in South Carolina, his presidential campaign is over.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

20%+ in South Carolina or bust.

Fortunately, Tennessee early voting goes through the 25th, so I can vote for Cruz if Rubio becomes unviable.  Originally, I was planning to vote for Rubio tomorrow (the first day of early voting) or Thursday.

On a side note, I'm ready to join TNVol in hating New Hampshire after these results!

[Kalimantan]

There isn't one, his constituencies overlap too much with other candidates - Cruz for the hispanic conservative wing, Bush for the establishment darling - and neither of them has messed up or has an issue with the experience tag.

Although the post-debate attacks and jokes have focused on his scripted lines, the original line of attack was his experience and achievements in the Senate, and he still hasn't addressed those. Rubio-bot can be laughed off but the lack of experience tag will be lasting. Obama had a single line to get past that - he voted against the Iraq war - Rubio doesn't have anything.

Someone above had the right idea if he wants to be President. Drop out gracefully, go back to the Senate, work hard, sponsor bills, learn politics and come back humbler and better in 8 years. He has the charm and image of a presidential candidate and I doubt that goes away. But at the moment some Pubs seem to think being a Fox news favourite is all you need.

[Lief 🗽]

Win South Carolina.

[Sir Mohamed]

I think he will be the nominee and I really think this is going to happen: Strong third in SC and a win in NV, while the Trumpster comes in third there. After that Kasich has to drop out by late February. Rubio then performs well on Super Tuesday, what will lead Jeb to quit the race. After Super Tuesday, the Trumpster is likely finished and Cruz the only remaining competitor. Then the establishment rallies tirelessly behind Rubio to avoid Cruz. By April, the battle will be decided and Rubio ends up as the nominee. Then he picks Kasich as VP.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

I think he will be the nominee and I really think this is going to happen: Strong third in SC and a win in NV, while the Trumpster comes in third there. After that Kasich has to drop out by late February. Rubio then performs well on Super Tuesday, what will lead Jeb to quit the race. After Super Tuesday, the Trumpster is likely finished and Cruz the only remaining competitor. Then the establishment rallies tirelessly behind Rubio to avoid Cruz. By April, the battle will be decided and Rubio ends up as the nominee. Then he picks Kasich as VP.

Would that scenario put the Trumpster in the dumpster?

[Bismarck]

Get Bush and Kasich to drop out after S. Carolina and Nevada. Not impossible, Bush beat Rubio by less than 2,000 votes in New Hampshire. Rubio has the endorsement of the 2 most popular politicians in S. Carolina. He just needs to beat back Bush and Kasich. It's not too late to be the anti Trump Cruz.

[Angel of Death]

Whatever it is, it has to include some debate refresher courses.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

A major firmware upgrade, and possibly a faster interprocessor hyperchannel bus link.

[Torie]

Change his style in the debates and otherwise to something more conversational and less canned. Rubio admits he sucked at the debate now, and so presumably now acknowledges the problem, and how toxic it is to his chances, of voters think he is just too immature and shallow for the job. He needs to prove that this concern of voters is not well taken. We shall see.

[°Leprechaun]

Rubio's down but not out. Kasich or Bush have to prove that they can win this. If they can't and decline, Rubio might still have a slim chance. I think that the nomination is still Trump's with Cruz having a much smaller chance. It's just not clear yet who will do better in March between the other three.

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

If he doesn't get a top three showing in South Carolina, his presidential campaign is over.

He would need to beat Bush in South Carolina by a large enough margin to force Bush out of the race, then win Nevada, and then win somewhere on Super Tuesday (Minnesota? Colorado? The guy has no obvious geographic base in the party.) to have even a somewhat viable path. If he doesn't win Nevada, I doubt he wins a single state.

A major firmware upgrade, and possibly a faster interprocessor hyperchannel bus link.

Lol