UPDATE: The Kansas GOP has informed The Daily Caller that in fact Bob Dole won the 1988 Kansas Republican Caucus. Its website had previously said George H.W Bush was the winner. This means that Rubio is the first sitting senator to lose his home state since at least 1984.
[crscore]Marco Rubio[/crscore] is the first sitting senator, Republican or Democrat, since Bob Dole in 1988 to lose his home state in a primary election.
Rubio only won one county in Florida — his home of Miami-Dade. In the lead-up to the Tuesday’s election in the Sunshine State, the senator emphasized the importance of winning. He said, “I believe with all my heart that the winner of the Florida primary next Tuesday will be the nominee of the Republican Party.”
Dole lost in his home state of Kansas in 1988 to then-Vice President George H.W Bush.
Rubio’s campaign and affiliated Super PACs spent $8.2 million dollars in Florida.
Donald Trump won with 45.7 percent of the vote. There was also $8.7 million spent by PACs opposing Trump. A total of 4,300 TV ads were aired the week before the election attacking the New York real estate developer.