The Republican field is gathering its forces against establishment candidate Marco Rubio, in a sign that his third-place poll ratings are underplaying his real strength in the race.
A super PAC for Rubio's one-time mentor, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, slammed him on Monday with advertising targeting how he misses Senate votes and national security briefings,
reports CNN, joining Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the attacks against the Florida senator.
Rubio is widely considered the leading candidate with the most appeal for the GOP establishment, which approves neither of Cruz and front-runner Donald Trump, so candidates like Bush and Christie must draw centrist attention away from Rubio if they hope to win the contentious GOP primary.
Rubio's communications director Alex Conant has denied a claim made in Bush's ad that the senator missed a briefing on the Paris terrorist attack, saying he did indeed attend the meeting.
But Christie is also slamming Rubio for missing votes, especially on the recent $1.8 trillion spending package, after Rubio insisted that he was opposed to it.
"Only in Washington could you have the guts to say I'm against something that you have a vote to vote 'no' on, and then just not go," Christie said at an Iowa town hall Tuesday. "Well, dude, show up to work and vote 'no', right? Just show up to work and vote 'no,' and if you don't want to, then quit."
Paul's poll numbers are low, but Bush and Christie have more opportunity to take votes away from Rubio with attacks, notes The Hill.
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Christie has 11.5 percent in New Hampshire, compared to 12.8 for Rubio, meaning he could take votes away from Rubio with his attacks.
Meanwhile, Cruz and Rubio have been in a dispute over immigration policy for some time, coming to a head at the recent GOP debate in Las Vegas. A day before that debate, Cruz told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program Rubio "has far too often agreed with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama."
Rubio Wednesday morning responded to Christie's complaints about his voting record, telling Fox News' "Fox and Friends" that the governor is a "funny guy, but he's never in New Jersey. He's gone half the time."
He explained that he is not in Washington for votes because "Washington is completely broken and that's why I'm running for president. These votes that they're taking in Washington, they don't count. We [can] vote to repeal Obamacare but unless you have a president that's going to sign it it's not going to matter. We want to strengthen our military but unless we have a president committed to it it won't matter."
Most of what happens in Washington, he continued, is "just for show or for talk, that's why we're going to run for president. Only if we can change the direction, we can only change the direction of this country with a new president that will move us in the right direction."
And with the candidates who are ramping up their fights?
"They're growing increasingly desperate and nasty, and that's okay," said Rubio. "After eight years of Barack Obama this country cannot afford to elect just another Republican, another person who's been waiting in line for their turn to run for president and this country. We most certainly cannot afford Hillary Clinton because we can't afford four more years like the last eight."
Meanwhile, Rubio is gathering major endorsements from congressmen, including one of the largest endorsements in the race so far, from South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, but it may not be enough for him to top the race over Trump or Cruz,
reports MSNBC.
Rubio is assuming that his campaign will attract the usual establishment figures who have helped the most recent nominees win the presidential primaries.
He has made some strides while Bush falters and after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker left the race, and has gathered more support from big names in the past three months than any other candidate.
But those gains aren't translating to poll wins, where his numbers haven't been climbing much above 11 to 13 percent, and in some places, like in New Hampshire where he's losing ground.