Florida senator Marco Rubio brought an end to his campaign to secure the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday night after a loss in his home state.
In a winner-take-all contest, Donald Trump secured the 99 delegates on offer as he came out on top in the polls with 45.7 of the vote (at time of writing with 99% precincts reporting), leaving Rubio trailing in second place with just 27%.
During his concession speech on the night, Rubio stated that "America is in the middle of a real political storm, a real tsunami and we should have seen this coming", but added that he and his supporters were on the right side, just not the winning side.
He recognised the anger that people in America are feeling, but stated that a strong Republican party was needed to change the direction the country was headed in:
"I know that after eight years of Barack Obama this nation needs a vibrant and growing conservative movement [...] or many of the things that are going wrong now will become permanent. But one that's built on principles and ideas, not on fear, not on anger".
Rubio also took aim at the GOP itself in his parting words on the 2016 campaign trail, saying that the Republican Party needed to recognised the change that many of its members have been calling for:
"We also need a new political establishment in our party. Not one that that looks down on those outside the district of Columbia. Not one that tells young people to wait their turn and wait in line, and not one that is more interested in winning elections than it is in solving problems or standing by principles".
In a number of comments clearly referencing the campaign run by Donald Trump up to this point, he asked his supporters not to give into divisive rhetoric, stating that he had run "a campaign to be President that would love all of the American people, even the ones that don't love you back".
In his closing remarks, Rubio said "I ask the American people do not give into the fear. Do not give in to the frustration. We can disagree about public policy, we can disagree about it vibrantly and passionately, but we are a hopeful people and we have every right to be hopeful, for we in this nation are the descendants of go-getters [...] we are the descendants of slaves, who overcame that horrible institution to stake their claim in the American dream. We are descendants of immigrants and exiles who knew and believed that they were destined for more, and there was only one place on earth where that was possible. This is who we are, and let us fight to ensure that this is who we remain".
