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 The Super PAC supporting the U.S. senator from Florida,
Conservative Solutions, poured $4.2 million into 10 Super Tuesday
states between Feb. 10 and Feb. 27, almost twice as much as groups
backing rival Ted Cruz, according to a Reuters analysis of Federal
Election Commission filings.
Super PACs supporting all candidates combined, including Rubio,
spent $8.8 million in those states during that period.
The biggest chunk of money from Rubio's allied Super PAC was $1.5
million targeting U.S. Senator Cruz's home state of Texas, the
biggest prize among the Super Tuesday states in terms of the number
of delegates up for grabs. (Click here for a graphic:
http://tmsnrt.rs/1Lr2J0c )
Cruz is poised to defeat Republican front-runner Donald Trump in
Texas by a double-digit margin, with Rubio running a distant third
in opinion polls.
Efforts to reach an official at Conservative Solutions were
unsuccessful, but experts said the spending could be an effort to
prevent Cruz from reaching a threshold of victory that would allow
him to sweep the state's 155 delegates.
"Given the delegate allocation, if Rubio can keep Trump or Cruz
under 50 percent in some districts, he stops them from getting all
the delegates in that district," said University of Houston
political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus. In the Texas
Republican primary, delegates are allocated proportionally by
congressional district.
Texas-based Republican strategist Joe Brettell said a strong showing
by Rubio in the state could also help the 44-year-old senator
justify another run for the presidency in 2020 if he should fail to
win the nomination this time.
Rubio has emerged as the Republican establishment's favored
candidate to take on Trump for the presidential nomination, drawing
a flood of endorsements and donor cash since former Florida Governor
Jeb Bush dropped out on Feb. 20.
But the senator has struggled to distinguish himself from Cruz in
both the polls and recent nominating contests.
Cruz's allied Super PAC spent $738,000 in his home state during the
period. Trump's campaign is largely self-funded and he does not have
an allied Super PAC.
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The review of Super PAC spending does not include money spent by
campaigns, which are set to disclose their February spending on
March 20. Super PACs supporting the candidates, as well as other
outside groups trying to influence voters, are required to notify
the Federal Election Commission shortly after purchasing ads.
Super PACs, which were created after the U.S. Supreme Court's
Citizens United decision in 2010, can raise and spend unlimited
amounts of money but are barred from coordinating with the
campaigns.
This year is shaping up to be one of the most expensive elections in
American history. And a lot of the money lately has been spent
targeting Trump.
Between the Super PACs supporting Rubio and Cruz as well as other
groups that are working to bring down Trump, $7.2 million has been
spent in Super Tuesday states and in national ad buys attacking the
New York real estate billionaire, according to the Reuters review.
One of the ads the Conservative Solutions PAC is running in Texas
takes aim at Trump University, a for-profit program he launched that
is now the subject of lawsuits from unhappy attendees. Trump called
for the ad to be taken down, saying it was inaccurate.
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson and Grant Smith; Editing by Richard
Valdmanis and Jonathan Oatis)
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reserved.]
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