2nd-place Rubio is GOP target in New Hampshire
Candidates jockey to be seen as main Trump alternative
In most elections, the name of the game is to go after the front-runner, but that isn’t happening these days in New Hampshire.
Instead, it’s the reputed second-place candidate — Marco Rubio — who’s taking the heat ahead of Tuesday’s “first-in-thenation” primary.
Candidates Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Ted Cruz want to catch Rubio first in order to become the main alternative to Trump and his maverick candidacy, said aides and political analysts.
“They figure Trump will be easier to take down later,” said Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire.
Trump currently leads several New Hampshire polls by double digits, and the primary could boil down to a battle for second place, a contest that centers on Rubio.
During a high-profile debate on Saturday, only Bush directly criticized Trump, citing his support of eminent domain taking of private land for the purpose of building new projects.
Instead, during the debate as well as a series of town halls and TV interviews on Sunday, most of the candidates fixed on Rubio.
Christie, the governor of New Jersey, led the charge, pounding Rubio over his inexperience and his propensity for repeating canned sound bites — something Rubio did during the debate, repeating wordfor-word four times a frequent attack on President Obama.
While the “chattering class” had rushed to “anoint” Rubio as the Republican nominee-in-waiting last week, Christie told CNN’s
State of the Union that “the whole race changed” amid the Floridian’s floundering during the debate, underscoring his argument that the first-term senator is simply not ready for the presidency.
“You have to be prepared, you have to be experienced, you have to be ready,” Christie said, arguing that he has these qualities and Rubio doesn’t. Christie also touted his debate performance during campaign events Sunday.
Bush has also piled on Rubio, saying the first-term senator has been scripted and has not exhibited leadership.
Another governor, Kasich of Ohio, says he is trying to run a more positive campaign, and recent polls indicate he is challenging Rubio for second place.
Rubio did not mention the debate at town hall appearances Sunday, but told ABC’s This Week he’s happy to have opponents replay his attacks on Obama “because it happens to be one of the main reasons why I am running.”
Campaign aides said Christie, Bush, and other candidates have no choice but to attack Rubio because they are so far behind in the presidential race.
“The other candidates had to knock Marco out,” said Rubio spokesman Alex Conant. “They didn’t.”
The candidates opposing Trump have been attacking each other for months. But Rubio started drawing more of the attention after a strong third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses last week. Now, his opponents are looking to stop a surge for Rubio in New Hampshire.
Trump, meanwhile, declared victory in the weekend debate, telling backers Sunday at Plymouth State University that “even people who hate me gave me good marks.”