Republican Candidate Marco Rubio's Quiet Campaign is Gaining Steam

With most of the presidential nominees fighting for the media spotlight, Republican candidate Marco Rubio is running a much more quiet campaign and he's gaining steam. Since Scott Walker dropped from the race earlier this week, Rubio has garnered significant support in the 2016 presidential race, both in the polls and financially.

Rising from a mere three to four percent ratings in the polls, with Walker's drop, Rubio has jumped to 11% in a recent poll by CNN. Additionally, Rubio is getting about two-thirds of the Wisconsin governor's fund-raising works, which will no doubt be a major boost in the coming months.

Rubio's strategy has been focusing less on big rallies and instead quietly winning over smaller groups, one at a time, often in states that have relatively few electoral votes, such as Iowa and Oklahoma. In fact, earlier this year, Rubio won an ally in the Grassley family. He fund-raised for Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, as well as Grassley's son, Patrick, who serves in the Iowa state senate.

According to Fox News, one unaligned Republican strategist believes Rubio is doing well. "His chances have grown, his chances are growing. He's part of a small group of candidates who really do have a shot."

Staying quiet and out of the media limelight, and by the same token, the media firing line, Rubio's slowly building a powerbase he can capitalize on later this campaign season. With a strong showing at key events, such as the debate at the Reagan Library, Rubio's slowly but surely gaining ground in the polls with many Americans who, while entertained, are tired of the antics many of the forefront Republican nominees are utilizing in their campaigns.

Building his base is going to be key to his campaign strategy if Rubio wants to do well and improve in the polls. As a younger, less experienced politician compared to his rivals, as well as having a spotty voting record, Rubio will need to prepare careful defenses against the ammunition he's already provided his detractors.

If Rubio can keep his campaign together, avoid the many verbal screwballs of his opponents, and come up with strong, positive reasons to vote for him (instead of simply deflecting attacks or questions), Rubio stands to be a strong contender for the Republican presidential nomination.