No Republican presidential candidate has ever received more than 40% of the Hispanic vote.
The claim that George Bush got 44% of the Hispanic vote in 2004 has been vigorously disputed.
Both Pew Research and NBC News recalculated the numbers on that poll, and both of them agreed it should have been 40%.
Also, there were 10 national polls on Hispanic voting in 2004.
Eight of them found that Bush got between 32% and 38%.
Also, in 2010, Susana Martinez, the center-left Mexican-American Republican governor of New Mexico, received only 39% of the Hispanic vote.
If she had run in 2008 or 2012, she would have lost, because the Democrat turnout was massively higher in each of those years.
Unless Rubio swerves dramatically Left, a Republican Rubio will not get more than 40% of the Hispanic vote.
And if he does swerve dramatically Left, the GOP will walk away from him.
I didn’t mean to imply Rubio would ‘capture’ the hispanic voted for the GOP. I agree with you, it’s a fantasy ( or lie, take your pick). But you and I both know he’s the token in search of some of those votes.