Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio has opened a campaign office in the multi-color Lakeshore Marketplace on West Catawba, not far from the high-end lakefront communities that helped support Thom Tillis’ successful—and costly—campaign for the U.S. Senate.
“Marco Rubio is running a campaign in all 50 states, and we are excited to continue bringing his optimistic vision for our country to North Carolina,” said Greg Brooks, regional spokesman for the Rubio campaign.
On Super Tuesday, Rubio won only Minnesota, as Donald Trump racked up wins in Alabama, Arkansas, Massachussetts, Georgia, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. Ted Cruz won in Alaska, Oklahoma and Texas.
Rubio’s best option may be a brokered GOP convention in July, but that means an on-going four-way battle to deny Donald Trump the 1,237 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination.
The Tillis’, Susan and Thom, are supporting Rubio. His North Carolina leadership team also includes NC Rep. John Bradford and NC Sen. Jeff Tarte, as well as US Rep. Robert Pittenger. Rubio’s office is in a small space over the Armin’s Catering operations.
“North Carolina voters know that Marco Rubio is committed to our military and veterans, in contrast to Ted Cruz who voted to gut our defense programs which fund those communities. We see growing support every day from grassroots leaders across North Carolina who know Marco is the only candidate that can unite the Republican Party to defeat Hillary in November.”
Brooks said Rubio is competing across North Carolina. “The campaign plans to open multiple offices by the end of the week with half a dozen paid staffers,” he said, explaining that offices are opened in areas with a high density of identified campaign volunteers to mobilize “Marco’s significant support” in North Carolina.
Beyond brick and mortar offices, the campaign is running volunteer phone banks and staging door to door efforts across the state. Marco continues to speak about his plans to assist military and veterans in North Carolina and the nation, a consistent Tillis theme as well.
As the primary calendar continues, the campaign is redeploying staff from earlier states like Georgia and South Carolina to the next contests on the calendar, including North Carolina.
While Rubio is expected to campaign hard in North Carolina, there were no scheduling details Thursday morning.