Rubio’s hopes hanging by a thread as Florida gets ready to vote

The next few days will be absolutely pivotal to not only Marco Rubio’s hopes of winning the Republican Presidential Nominee, but also as to whether or not the Floridian even sees out the week.

Rubio has claimed just three wins so far – Minnesota, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. – and trails both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz by a near insurmountable margin.

The 44-year-old’s home state of Florida was always set to be crucial for Rubio, but a failure to find any momentum in recent weeks has seen Trump emerge as heavy favourite to claim the Sunshine State.

The real estate mogul is 1/10 to claim the 99-delegate winner-takes-all vote, with Rubio a 6/1 shot.

Defeat and the Cuban American will surely be calling time on his campaign before the week is out, while even victory may succeed in only delaying defeat anyway.

Rubio’s failure to oust Cruz as the main anti-Trump candidate has really shown in this election process, with his Texan rival consistently prevailing in the polls.

A recent poll from CNN has Trump ahead of Rubio in Florida by anything between 26 to 40 per cent, and despite the controversy over the former US Apprentice host having to postpone a rally in Chicago last week, it seems his supporters are continuing to turn out in force.

Even his victory in Washington D.C. across the weekend failed to inspire the betting, with Rubio 20/1 fourth-favourite to be named Republican Nominee in July, having been as short as 8/11 in six weeks ago.

Trump is the 1/3 favourite to run for the White House, as Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina go to vote on Super Tuesday II.

Over at the Democrat table, Bernie Sanders will be hoping last week’s Michigan win can spur his campaign on to more success across the several Rust Belt States taking centre stage this week.

But while he may feature strongly in Ohio, Illinois and Missouri, Hillary Clinton is largely expected to maintain her advantage with wins in Florida and North Carolina.

It’s a huge week for all concerned, will Rubio be handed a knock-out blow by his own State? And can Sanders cause another surprise in the Rust Belt?

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.