Despite his campaign’s claims of “Marco-mentum,” it is Trump, not Rubio, who is amassing the necessary delegates. Polls show that a growing number of Republicans believe Trump will be the nominee, while Rubio continues to be most voters’ second choice.

“We’re past the point of trying to lower expectations,” said Kevin Madden, a GOP consultant and Romney’s former spokesman. “When you’ve got someone with Donald Trump’s momentum, you’ve got to start beating expectations.”

By contrast to Trump’s bravado about winning, Rubio’s campaign won’t even say when or where their candidate might finish first in a state primary.

On Wednesday, Rubio heads to a rally in Minnesota, one of the large number of states voting on March 1, where his more measured brand of conservatism may have a good chance. Many in the GOP say he’ll need to win at least one or two of the March 1 contests or risk falling hopelessly behind.