Party "Elders" and Marco Rubio

In our discussion and readings, there is a focus on the role of parties in elections. This election cycle, the GOP network has a large field from which to choose, and the establishment Republicans in particular are struggling to decide what do to with the support their network can provide. While Marco Rubio is the "establishment" candidate who consistently polls the best nationally, most establishment Republicans are hesitant to give him a public endorsement. In this Politico article, Burgess Everett writes:

"Republican Party elders in Congress have nothing but nice things to say about Marco Rubio, but the Florida senator is encountering a nagging problem — they’re not ready to coalesce around him as the man to stop Donald Trump or Ted Cruz from marching to the nomination.

While Rubio racked up a string of lawmaker endorsements this fall to rival Jeb Bush's roster of congressional backers, his momentum on Capitol Hill has since stalled. His performance in the endorsement game, on the cusp of primary season, certainly isn’t fatal given Congress’ dismal ratings. But it does point to a struggle to be anointed the establishment candidate of choice."

This excerpt highlights how flawed it is to think that the party can simply ordain the candidate they prefer, proving that a party is much more like a network than a hierarchy. It will be interesting to see how the establishment Republicans proceed, considering as of Friday, January 22, FOX News has Marco Rubio polling at 11 percent while Jeb Bush, despite being an establishment favorite, struggles to stay above water at three percent.