With the New Hampshire primary poised to cut down the Republican field, candidates are sharpening their knives in a desperate bid for survival that on Thursday resembled a group attack on Sen.
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From there, it goes down. Either that, or an old gypsy told him that every time he said a certain phrase, he’d gain a point in the New Hampshire polls.
In the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, two anti-establishment candidates, had dominated the polls in the state while Rubio lagged well behind.
In an interview with CNN’s Jamie Gangel on Friday, Bush hit back at the idea that drawing a contrast with Rubio is bad for the Republican Party.
Mr Rubio was speaking in Exeter, a picturesque town in southern New Hampshire which houses one of America’s most prestigious preparatory schools and an original copy of the American declaration of Independence.
“Gov. Bush has the staying power”, Diaz-Balart said. Voters in New Hampshire are notoriously late deciders, but even some of those gathered at Bush events – he’s done more than 90 town halls – say they’ve got their sights set on others.
Overall, 28% back Trump, 17% Marco Rubio, 13% each for Ted Cruz and John Kasich, 9% for Jeb Bush, 5% for Carly Fiorina and 4% for Chris Christie.
After a strong third place showing in the Iowa caucuses, Florida Sen.
Early indications were that Bush would do another ‘campaign reset, ‘ this time in New Hampshire, the site of the next presidential caucus and that’s unlikely to change.
A 2008 report from the Wall Street Journal noted: “Democrats in NY state”, alone had “sent out more than 800,000 “voter shaming” letters, grading residents on how often they turned out”. But a second place finish by Rubio as the race heads to the south could quickly make this a three person race with Cruz being positioned well in SC and Texas.
“Well, he’s making the argument here in New Hampshire that he can unite the party, that he can appeal to Tea Party conservatives, liberty conservatives, traditional Republicans”, Cullen says.
And so began a series of insults delivered in rapid-fire succession against Rubio, by which Christie has sought to drive home his case for why the first-term US senator is “simply not ready to be president”.
“We know who the boy in the bubble is up here who never answers your questions, who’s constantly scripted and controlled because he can’t answer your questions”, Christie said.
So if Rubio is anointed by New Hampshire as the top “moderate” “establishment” candidate, bear in mind that those labels are merely synonyms for Trump-Cruz lite; and that Rubio is merely the slickest marketer of the GOP’s ever-rightward mindset.
Others, such as Rob Berti, who had driven from Bedford, Massachusetts, said Mr Rubio had emerged as the most convincing candidate. This is an election for the president of the United States. “I know this about politics – when everyone’s attacking you, you must be doing something right”. He declined to mention his rivals by name, instead focusing on the Democratic contenders, who he assured the audience “do not want to face me”.
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“Rubio added that he does not specifically support rape or incest exceptions, saying that “[while] I think both of those instances are horrifying…I personally believe you do not correct one tragedy with a second tragedy”.
