New phase in GOP race as candidates sharpen attacks
SPARRING REFLECTS AN URGENT PUSH TO BECOME THE MAIN ALTERNATIVE TO TRUMP
As the first primary contests rapidly approach, a rash of bickering has broken out among several Republican presidential candidates, marking the beginning of a new, more serious phase of the race.
With just 60 days until the Iowa caucuses and then the New Hampshire primary, the sparring reflects an urgent push among the second- and third-tier GOP candidates to become the main alternative to resilient front-runner Donald Trump.
From immigration to government surveillance, guns and terrorism, the rivals are increasingly willing to draw distinctions — and call each other by name — as they move to secure the loyalty of early-state voters just starting to pay attention to the race.
The feuding is particularly notable among New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who have shown signs of strength in recent weeks and are attempting to carve out distinct identities within the party.
Christie, who campaigned here on Tuesday, pitches himself as a seasoned executive and former prosecutor with more experience than the two rookie senators. “I’m talking about anybody who doesn’t have the requisite experience to make the tough decisions they need to be president,” he said on Tuesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, adding Rubio, Cruz and others “have no experience in governing.”
Christie’s comments come as Rubio and Cruz are engaged in an increasingly bitter back-andforth over immigration, surveillance issues and national security — sparring that has become more intense in the wake of last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris.
Rubio (Florida), positioning himself as one of the most hawkish candidates in the GOP field, has taken aim at Cruz’s support for legislation halting the mass collection of telephone records by the National Security Agency.
“There are Republicans, including Senator Cruz, that have voted to weaken those programs,” Rubio said on Monday on Fox News. “That is just part of the record, it is nothing personal.”
Cruz (Texas) fired back by linking Rubio to the foreign policy of Hillary Clinton.