Trump aiming for New Hampshire win, rivals aim to survive

In response to accusations that he lacked the depth of experience to be president and resembled the first-term senator who was elected in 2008, Rubio had said, “Let’s dispel this notion that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing, he knows exactly what he’s doing”. The debate at St. Anselm College was the last face-off of the candidates before the vote.

Rubio is trying to fend off challenges from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Governor John Kasich and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

The morning after, Christie declared the Republican contest a changed race.

In New Hampshire, Trump commands 35 percent of support among likely Republican voters, a 21-point lead over closest rival Rubio, according to the latest 7News/University of Massachusetts Lowell poll.

Trump did not have his best debate. They used private eminent domain.

Asked whether his father’s confidence had been shaken at all by his second-place finish in Iowa, Donald Jr. described his dad as a man with plenty of fight left.

A victory in New Hampshire could put Trump on track for more wins in SC on February 20 and beyond on the way to the November 8 election. Traditionally Republican presidential hopefuls are more right-wing in the primaries to appeal to the core party electorate, who can be counted on to participate in the primary system, and then subsequently reign in their rhetoric and political plans in order to appeal to the more liberal undecided voter.

With just days before the state’s primary on Tuesday, just under half of likely Republican voters – 49 percent – said they were completely committed to their candidate.

“I thought the other people went after him because they’re scared of him”, said Erin Magee of Nashua.

As Rubio criticized Christie’s fiscal management skills, the New Jersey governor cut in, “That’s what Washington D.C. does: the drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information”. Clinton on Sunday took a detour to Flint, Michigan, where she said she would make a “personal commitment” to solving the city’s water-contamination crisis, and that Congress should act promptly to provide $200 million for a fix.

Rubio, appearing on ABC’s “This Week”, defended his performance and said his campaign “raised more money last night in the first hour of that debate than any other debate”.

“There it is. There it is. There it is. The memorized 25-second speech”, he said.

“You have not been involved in a consequential decision where you had to be held accountable”, Christie said.

Rubio repeated the line enough that someone created a Twitter profile called @RubioGlitch that repeated his line about Obama.

At a later Rubio event in Bedford, Air Force veteran Bill Utrera said he’s leaning toward Rubio and also considering Donald Trump. That is not public objective.

The boos for Trump came as he and Bush engaged in a heated debate over eminent domain, the process in which the government seizes private property for public use or projects. “Certainly, it’s a necessity for our country”, he said.

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The former Florida governor also made a passionate defense of his brother, former President George W. Bush. The organization said 506 donors contributed. He sought to refocus on the core messages of his campaign, including blocking Muslims from coming to the US and deporting all people in the country illegally, all while maintaining he has the temperament to serve as president.