Shortly after Scott Walker dropped out of the presidential race last week, two of his state chairmen for South Carolina and New Hampshire, among other staffers in Iowa, formally voiced their support for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. This shocked many people, as the announcements came almost immediately after the Wisconsin governor removed himself from the Republican ticket.

With Walker gone, all eyes are on Rubio, as talk of him being a likely recipient of the Republican Party’s nomination has increased. This comes as no surprise, considering both Walker and Rubio shared fairly similar stances on various issues, including abortion. There was even talk from Walker of eyeing Rubio to be his running mate.

Despite Donald Trump consistently polling in first place across the board, Rubio has a clear shot at winning the GOP nomination. He has the political experience, comes from humble beginnings and has an undoubted and genuine love for this country that truly shows when he speaks. With the candidate pool becoming more shallow as election season goes on, Rubio will have the chance to shine and this GOP underdog will prevail.

While Rubio did not come out on top in the last GOP debate, his performance was recognized as a strong one. He clearly knows how to keep his cool, has a sense of humor and is able to answer questions intelligibly – unlike many of his Republican counterparts.

Rubio has already begun to gain in popularity, as proved by Trump being booed at the annual Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC. The crowd erupted in disapproval when he called Rubio a “clown.”

Although commentators have been showing signs of support for Rubio, it is important that he does not get overconfident. The election itself is not for another year, and there is plenty of time for him to lose ground.

In order to avoid a campaign failure, Rubio should pick a strong running mate, granted he wins the nomination, in addition to keeping up with his senatorial duties. With Carly Fiorina’s surge in the polls, it would be wise for him to pick her as his right-hand gal, while staying away from weaker links like Walker.

While many of Walker’s supporters and donors have jumped ship to the Rubio camp, far-right conservatives have not. But what these voters are not keeping in mind is that ultra-conservative presidential hopefuls, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, only represent a small faction of the country and the party.

The GOP needs a candidate that stands up for more than just hardline conservatives. The party needs someone who will be able to reach key demographics like women, youth and independents.

With the parties more polarized than ever, it is important to keep in mind that electability should play a factor in who gets the GOP nomination. Sen. Rubio has that fire, fresh face and new perspective that America needs and should get behind come 2016.

Vanessa Salman is a junior political science major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at vksalman@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @VanessaSalman.

Published on September 29, 2015 at 11:44 pm