Zach Wamp

As my daughter and I arrived last Saturday evening in Greenville, S.C., for the final Republican debate before the most important primary in the 2016 presidential election, we received the news of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The reality of the importance of this year's election took on a new meaning.

The stakes are as high as any election in memory, and Tennesseans are now voting early as we approach election day in the "SEC" states on March 1.

The six remaining GOP candidates on stage that night represent in many ways the firewall between an even larger and out-of-control federal government and a more responsible approach to governing.

But one candidate continues to out-perform all others in a head-to-head contest against either former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Sen. Bernie Sanders. That candidate is Marco Rubio.

For me, at age 58, this seems to be the last chance my party, the so-called Grand Old Party, has to reshape itself into a party of growth and opportunity, ideas and reforms, and security and stability, before liberals simply stake claim to a permanent takeover of the executive branch.

The demographic sand has shifted beneath our feet. The largest generation in American history, millennials, are overwhelmingly lining up behind a self-described socialist U.S. senator from Vermont. The apparent front runner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination is under FBI investigation. And the GOP field is led by a reality TV star-turned-politician who gains traction by name-calling, division and race baiting.

However, for the most part, the finalists in the Republican field are good men with good intentions. As national GOP Chairman Reince Priebus stated at the beginning of the debate, any of the remaining candidates would be far better for our country than the candidates put forth by the Democratic Party. But that does not mean they are all the same or that they would all have the same odds of winning in November.

Sen. Rubio offers a vision of a New American Century in which our leadership would once again rise to the occasion, develop coalitions of support for freedom and security around the world, build consensus again for a balanced budget and fiscal responsibility, put in place common sense social policy, and advanced technology growth to stimulate our economy and get our country back on the right path.

He is a transformative Republican candidate like Ronald Reagan. He has the ability to bring diversity to our party, appeal to the next generation of Americans and build a broad coalition of GOP support which would allow a pro-growth agenda to pass Congress and renew American exceptionalism.

Having been involved at every level with the Republican Party for more than 35 years, I feel that everything now is at stake. America cannot afford to get this decision wrong. The last eight years have not been our best. But we have rallied before and we must rally again.

Marco Rubio is our best hope to not only win the election in November, but he is our best hope to build a governing, conservative movement in the United States of America before it's too late. I appeal to the people of Tennessee to get out and vote. My personal preference is Sen. Marco Rubio for president.

Zach Wamp, a Republican who represented Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District from 1995 to 2011, leads Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential campaign efforts in the Volunteer State.