When [crscore]Marco Rubio[/crscore] lost the Florida Republican Primary Tuesday he became the first sitting GOP senator to fail to win his home state primary since Hiram Johnson in 1924.
Previously, The Daily Caller reported that Rubio was the first to do this since 1988. We were mistaken as the Kansas GOP website had George H.W Bush winning the state’s caucus, in fact Sen. Bob Dole had won it.
Sen. Hiram Johnson lost the California GOP primary to incumbent President Calvin Coolidge. Among both parties the last sitting senator to lose in their home state was Eugene McCarthy in 1968. He lost to a fellow Minnesotan – Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Minnesota did not have a primary that year but Humphrey got more delegates from the state than McCarthy.
Sen. Wayne Morse also lost his home state of Oregon in 1952, however, Morse was not in the race to win it. His role was primarily to stop Robert Taft’s bid for the presidency, and Morse stumped for the state’s eventual winner — Dwight Eisenhower.
Despite spending over $8 million in an effort to win Florida, Rubio only won one county. This was his home of Miami-Dade.
The Florida senator received 27 percent of the vote, Trump won the state with 45.7 percent support.