Third-place Iowa winner Marco Rubio says he'll become the GOP nominee

Marco Rubio and his family.
(Image credit: Pete Maravich/Getty Images)

After a strong showing in the Iowa Republican caucus, coming in third behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told a crowd in Des Moines it was "the moment they said would never happen."

"For months they told us we had no chance," he said. "For months they told us because we offered too much optimism in a time of anger, we had no chance." Rubio said now is "not a time for waiting, for everything that makes this nation great now hangs in the balance." He vowed to "preserve and protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," and said if he becomes the Republican nominee, he will "unify this party and unify the conservative movement, grow the conservative movement, and take our message to the people who are struggling paycheck to paycheck."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.