A.G. Gancarski
Jacksonville fans of Marco Rubio will enjoy seeing him at the Morocco Temple Saturday afternoon. Yet the Morocco Temple was not his first choice.
Rubio’s first choice location was the nearby University of North Florida, according to a reliable source connected with UNF. The price point of about $11,000 was prohibitive, apparently, and the decision was made to move the event to the nearby Morocco Temple.
The main room at the Morocco Temple, a concert and performance facility for decades, holds 3,200. It has hosted everything from gun shows to the Vans Warped Tour. Parking is on site and easily accessed.
And the invoice price is below $11,000.
The Rubio operation, in the coming days, will necessarily run leaner. Fox News seems to have lost confidence in Rubio, which was signaled as Super Tuesday results came in and Megyn Kelly signaled doubts in Rubio’s path forward, saying “There’s a real question what he will do after tonight.”
His Florida messaging will be paid for by PACs.
There’s nothing wrong with the Morocco Temple. However, will the event compare to Donald Trump packing the Jacksonville Landing in October?
Rubio may have every meaningful politician in Northeast Florida by his side Saturday. But he’s had that advantage everywhere in recent weeks, and it has translated to third place in the delegate count, and into a campaign apparently making hard scheduling choices, as it fights to stay alive in an uncertain battle on its home turf.
