If Rubio wins or does extremely well tomorrow, how does the race go from here?

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Let's say Trump underperforms and Rubio overperforms and comes 2nd or outright wins SC, how will the race shape up going forward?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

3 way race.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Bush and Kasich likely drop out and it becomes a three-way race and it probably becomes intensely ugly.

EDIT: jfern is right

[Asian Nazi]

If Rubio wins South Carolina, he will become the frontrunner.

But he won't.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Rubio, if he finishes second, will have a compelling argument to make regarding the other Establishment candidates.  He will also have a compelling argument to make to some Movement Conservatives who are supporting Cruz, but who hate Trump and view stopping him as critical for the party. 

I don't see this happening, and if Rubio finishes only third, the fact that this was the best he could do despite money and high-profile endorsements will not reflect well on him.  Still, he seems to be in better shape than Jeb!, who MUST finish ahead of Rubio to be viable. 

[IceSpear]

After Iowa, I was nearly certain Rubio would win the nomination. The amount of tongue baths and praise he was getting for finishing 3rd solely based off a media manufactured surge was ludicrous, but it did show to what extent the party and media would do to install him as the nominee and next president. He had it all sewn up after that. All he had to do was finish 2nd in NH, and ride even more momentum into SC/NV.

But he choked. His performance in the debate was so bad he finished a pathetic 5th in NH. Most people, including myself, thought the party and media would ditch their losing horse after such a disastrous implosion. But they didn't. Not only did they stick with him, but they've rehabilitated him to the point where he's about to wave yet ANOTHER wave of manufactured momentum to the nomination. If even the debate implosion and 5th place finish in NH didn't stop him, nothing outside of live boy/dead girl will.

This is my official prediction: Marco Rubio will be the Republican nominee, and the next president of the United States. The fix is in.

[RosettaStoned]

This is my official prediction: Marco Rubio will be the Republican nominee, and the next president of the United States. The fix is in.
[/quote]

  You can't be serious. 

[Mehmentum]

Rubio may very well be the nominee, but the general election is a whole different battleground.  The Republicans are making a huge mistake by putting all of their eggs in Marcobot.

[PeteB]

If that happens, Bush will be forced out and Kasich will come under intense pressure to do the same.

[IceSpear]

This is my official prediction: Marco Rubio will be the Republican nominee, and the next president of the United States. The fix is in.

[/b]

  You can't be serious. 
[/quote]

Why not?

And I'm totally serious. I even just updated my predictions.

[IceSpear]

Rubio may very well be the nominee, but the general election is a whole different battleground.  The Republicans are making a huge mistake by putting all of their eggs in Marcobot.

It's not just the Republicans covering for him though, it's the media. If he has a bad week on the campaign trail, a gaffe, or a poor debate? Just throw out more email stories or other Hillary faux scandals, or discuss how he's so much more "likable" despite his mishaps.

Or god forbid if Sanders is the nominee, just talk about how he's an f'ing SOCIALIST, and whatever little amazing Marco did can't compare to that godforsaken evil. And before Bernie's bots start quoting polls, you'll see how toxic Bernie embracing socialism really becomes after a full scale media and GOP assault.

[Ronnie]

I agree with Ice Spear in every respect.  If Rubio manages to get second, which seems likely due to the fact that he media has been utterly in the tank for him over the past few days, he would effectively winnow the race down to 2 people, himself and Trump.  Kasich and Cruz would become zombie campaigns, and Bush and Carson would probably drop out.  And when the one-on-one race would emerge quicker than we previously expected, Rubio would shellac Trump.

I think Rubio will rise into the high fifties to low sixties in betting markets after the primary tomorrow, even if he loses by a modest margin.

[Volrath50]

I imagine even if Rubio gets third, but within a few points of Cruz in SC, the media will declare him the winner of SC, and betting markets will shoot up to giving Rubio like 70% to win the nomination.

I'm really sick of how the media is trying to force Rubio down everyone's throats. I have met people who don't really follow American politics closely who actually thought Rubio won Iowa because that is how it was covered. Ridiculous.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I disagree that it would be Rubio v Trump. Cruz still has a strong following should do very well in the South. There would be no reason for him to leave the race until probably late March.

[Averroës Nix]

I disagree that it would be Rubio v Trump. Cruz still has a strong following should do very well in the South. There would be no reason for him to leave the race until probably late March.

Why would we expect Cruz to do well across the rest of the South if he's <20% in SC? At this point TX + a few western caucuses looks like the best that he can do. That's plausibly enough delegates to matter in a close race, I guess, but his campaign is clearly sinking under the weight of its candidate's glaring weaknesses. Cruz is not the kind of candidate who gets a "second look."

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I disagree that it would be Rubio v Trump. Cruz still has a strong following should do very well in the South. There would be no reason for him to leave the race until probably late March.

Why would we expect Cruz to do well across the rest of the South if he's <20% in SC? At this point TX + a few western caucuses looks like the best that he can do. That's plausibly enough delegates to matter in a close race, I guess, but his campaign is clearly sinking under the weight of its candidate's glaring weaknesses. Cruz is not the kind of candidate who gets a "second look."

Frankly, because SC is not as indicative of the Southern vote as it is for the Democrats.

[Averroës Nix]

Frankly, because SC is not as indicative of the Southern vote as it is for the Democrats.

I expect the county-level results to be telling. If Rubio is anywhere near winning, though, I'm afraid that the primary map might turn out far more boring than any of had been expecting.

[Xing]

If he outright wins SC, he'll quickly become the frontrunner, and the mediagasm will ensue. If he gets a close second, the media will eat it up, of course, but unless he can win NV after that, he won't be favored over Trump. Either way, if Rubio overperforms expectations and dominates the narrative after SC, my prediction (and you can quote me on this) is that he'll have another meltdown like the "Obama knows exactly what he's doing" one in NH.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

It's amazing to me that a guy who had a horrible gaffe and then finished 5th in New Hampshire is now surging once again off the backs of the media. He did nothing to change my opinion of him between then and now.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

It's amazing to me that a guy who had a horrible gaffe and then finished 5th in New Hampshire is now surging once again off the backs of the media. He did nothing to change my opinion of him between then and now.

This GOP race is just bizarre... the ups and down and peaks and valleys. The Democratic race makes sense to me, this is... I can't.

[Fargobison]

He gaffe'd but nobody really came forward as a viable Trump challenger, especially among the establishment. So he is back again, if there was no Trump he probably would have been done for.

[PeteB]

He gaffe'd but nobody really came forward as a viable Trump challenger, especially among the establishment. So he is back again, if there was no Trump he probably would have been done for.

Not quite. Kasich clearly stepped forward, after Rubio's stumble, but for some reason neither the establishment nor the media are jumping on board. I can understand the media - Kasich does not produce headlines as well as Trump, Cruz or Rubio, but it seems the GOP establishment is unsure how much leverage they would have in a future Kasich administration. Which is fine by me !

[Bismarck]

Well he was able to secure key endorsements and give a strong debate performance last week. And he has always been the candidate with the most room to grow. I don't think Haley endorsed him because of media coverage. The establishment lining up behind him is not media manufactured it's because Bush and Kasich would not be able to beat Trump and Cruz. I can see that I'm in the minority here though. Everyone else seems to think that all the liberal commentators are rooting for Rubio. I'm sure.

[PeteB]

The real concern with Rubio is the contents, not the packaging. He comes across very well but I am still not sure what makes him tick. Before maybe voting for him, I would love to know that!