PALM BEACH, FLA. – The writing was on the wall two weeks ago, on Super Tuesday (or Super Tuesday I, as it is now being called), that Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign was on life support. We were the first to proclaim the day “Goodbye, Rubio Tuesday,” noting the demise not only of a single candidacy, but the last remaining one of the Republican establishment’s choosing – albeit by default, as their top pick Jeb Bush never got off the ground.

And now, on March 15, though he insisted he would stay in the race beyond his home state of Florida, Rubio suspended his campaign after coming in second to overall frontrunner Donald Trump, and it’s official.
Barring a contested convention, the GOP nominee is going to be either Donald Trump (most likely) or Ted Cruz (a longshot), with Kasich essentially mathematically eliminated from contention, even with a win in his home state of Ohio on March 15, aka Super Tuesday II.

Although amid seemingly endless and often vicious infighting among the final four candidates, Kasich stood out as the only remaining “grownup” but that hardly renders him an establishment favorite. In winning the state of which he is governor, Ohio, Kasich enthusiastically proclaimed to his fellow Buckeyes that it’s on to Philadelphia and the rest of the nation.

On the Democratic side, frontrunner Hillary Clinton has entered “almost inevitable” territory with clear wins in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio – losing only Missouri (at press time) – leaving self-described democratic socialist languishing far behind in the race, though not out of it yet.

Winning all but Ohio (at press time), Trump spoke from his headquarters in Palm Beach, blasting the pundits for criticizing that he is not getting more than 50% of the total Republican vote because there are (were) still four people in the race. “It’s basic math,” he said, calling the commentary “ridiculous.”  Otherwise, he went back to his campaign themes of jobs, better trade deals, a stronger military, secure borders, good health care, better treatment of veterns, and reversing the problem that “we don’t win anymore.”

Next up for both parties are the Arizona and Utah contests on March 22.

Meanwhile, national politics was not the only thing on Floridians’ minds, especially in the Greek-American community, where Kalymnos native Chris Alahouzos won the Tarpon Springs race for Mayor in a landslide victory over Frank Di Donato. A former commisioner and vice mayor, Alahouzos captured approximately 60 percent of the vote.