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The 2016 Republican presidential primaries are held between January 4th to June 10th 2016. Marco Rubio, senator of Florida becomes the favorite running mate to win the Republican nomination. His challengers are Chris Cristie, governor of New Jersey, Paul Ryan, representative of Wisconsin and former running mate of Mitt Romney in 2012, and Rand Paul, senator of Kentucky. There is 2286 delegates to be choose and a candidate needs to accumulate 1144 delegates to win the nomination. On mid-March, Rubio secures the nomination and becomes the first Hispanic to become the presidential candidate of a major party.
Republican Presidential Primaries:
Candidates:
- Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida since 2011; Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009 (Nominee)
- Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey since 2010
- Paul Ryan, 2012 vice-presidential nominee; U.S. Representative from Wisconsin since 1999
- Rand Paul, senator of Kentucky
After Mitt Romney's loss in 2012, Republicans were looking for a stronger candidate for 2016. With his youth (41 years old), his conservative faith and the fact that he is Hispanic, Marco Rubio, senator of Florida, became the favorite candidate for the GOP. In 2014, with the approval of the immigration reform bill of the Gang of 8, which Rubio belongs, in the Senate and the House of the representatives, the GOP gains more support among ethnic minorities, including Hispanics, the most growing ethny in the USA. It gives more popularity for Rubio to run for president in 2016. On April 8th 2015, Rubio announces he runs for president. The other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination are Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, Paul Ryan, representative of Wisconsin and former running mate of Mitt Romney in 2012, and Rand Paul, senator of Kentucky. There is 2286 delegates to be choose and a candidate needs to accumulate 1144 delegates to win the nomination. The first contest is set in Iowa on January 4th 2016. Senator Rubio wins the state by a margin of 3 % over Paul Ryan. A week later, Governor Christie wins New Hampshire. On January 18th, the states of Colorado, Minnesota, Utah and Missouri are holding a primary. Rubio wins 3 of these states while Christie gains Minnesota. A few weeks later, Arizona and Michigan are battlegrounds. With the endorsment of Senator John McCain, the Senator of Florida wins Arizona. With his promise of a New Deal for Detroit to end the bankruptcy in this city, he also wins Michigan. Before the Super Tuesday, where 11 states will hold a primary, Marco Rubio broadcasts ads against governor Christie describing him as a politician missing conservative faith. Another ad broadcast by Rubio's campaign team attacks Paul Ryan for not being dynamic enough to lead the party and for not being able to carry Wisconsin for Mitt Romney in 2012 despite the fact that Ryan is born in Wisconsin and a Representative of this state. This ad allows Rubio to surpass Ryan in his own home state with 36% against 34% for his opponent. These ads allowed Senator Rubio to win 9 states on 11 on Super Tuesday. Unable to revive his campaign after Super Tuesday, Paul Ryan drops out and endorses Marco Rubio. After Christie's victories in Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island and Rubio's victory in Pennsylvania, Rand Paul decides to suspend his campaign. Leading a dynamic campaign with a patriotic and conservative message of hope, Rubio wins 45 states on 50. He secures the Republican nomination on the early April after winning Indiana over Christie. After gaining the nomination, Rubio chooses Jon Huntsman Jr., former governor of Utah and former U.S ambassador in China, as his running mate for his great experience in foreign policy. The other reason why Rubio selected Huntsman is because he is a Asia expert (so Huntsman is popular among Asian-Americans), which could help him to win the Asian-American vote. The location of the 2016 Republican National Convention is set in Las Vegas.
Results:
Marco Rubio - 2061 delegates, 45 states + DC, 56 % of the popular vote
Chris Christie - 179 delegates, 5 states, 25 % of the popular vote
Paul Ryan - 93 delegates, 0 state, 12 % of the popular vote
Rand Paul - 76 delegates, 0 state, 7 % of the popular vote