“If we chose to get in, I don’t think there’s a state out there we wouldn’t play in, other than maybe Florida, where Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are,” said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on the Laura Ingraham show earlier this week, signaling that his potential presidential campaign could avoid Florida and let Rubio and Bush fight for that state’s delegates.
“Some of the polls essentially tied, and they’re going to eat up a good amount of that financial advantage that Gov. Bush is going to have,” Walker said.
Normally, I would say that sitting out in Florida would be a bad move for any Republican presidential primary candidate, but considering that “the fix” is in to help Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio on March 15, it would make sense to skip the Sunshine State.
What fix, one might ask?
The Florida legislature decided, for whatever reason, to push back its primary elections to the very first day that the RNC would allow a state to “award its delegates on a winner-take-all basis.”
This benefits Jeb Bush, who has the support of a good chunk of the Republican-led Florida legislature, and Rubio, who has if left unchecked, could walk away with the grassroots vote.
“The Palm Beach Post noted, the bill appears to be a “a boon for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio or former Gov. Jeb Bush, who both are considering a presidential run.” Such a front-loaded system often benefits establishment candidates with the most money to spend on television advertisements, as was the case with Mitt Romney in Florida in the 2012 race,” writes First Look.
Back in 2012, this same Florida legislature caused delegates to be stripped from the state by the RNC when it decided to move up the states primary election, a strategic move to help Mitt Romney.
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