George Pataki endorses Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio already has the formal support of four of his Senate colleagues, more than any of his competitors except fellow Floridian, former Gov. Jeb Bush.

George Pataki announced his endorsement of Rubio on Tuesday, calling him the best candidate to bring Americans together.

Trailing in the polls with Iowa looming Monday, Marco Rubio has been the target of more attack ads in the last few weeks. Rubio has focused more on Des Moines and the state’s other urban areas.

In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Kyl, R-Ariz., said he was impressed with Rubio’s foreign policy acumen.

“I heard that”, Trump later said, when asked about the reference. Never before that I can remember has Iowa had two guys at the top of the polls who are so passionately disliked by very different segments of the party.

Kasich is banking his presidential hopes on New Hampshire, all but ignoring Iowa as he seeks to become the establishment alternative to Trump in New Hampshire’s February 9 primary.

So his allies believe it makes little sense to launch a full-throated assault on Trump now. “You pick off the slowest zebras in the pack”. And that could be too late to catch Trump or Cruz.

Cruz is campaigning with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Iowa congressman Steve King.

Back in Iowa for his final campaign push here, Chris Christie sharpened his attacks against rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, comparing the first-term senators to President Barack Obama.

The Rubio team sees an overlap with Cruz in potential supporters.

In Iowa, the freshman senator is now at 18 percent, good for third behind Trump and Cruz. Trump retains the New Hampshire lead in the newest polls in New Hampshire. “People are learning more about his record and it’s hurting him”. He’s losing to Donald.

“These are unsafe times and people across America are desperate for strong leadership”, Pataki said.

He says he understands and shares their frustration, but insists “being angry is not a plan”.

In a separate written statement, Pataki stated that Rubio has the best chance to defeat Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, in a general election.

Rubio comes off as too controlled by his consultants.

Rubio, through his political action committee, spent almost a quarter of a million dollars helping boost Ernst in that contest.

Matt Strawn, a former GOP chairman in the state, is anxious Rubio’s new tone may backfire.

The entire complexion of the race can change following the debates, including Thursday’s high-stakes session in Des Moines. Bush, in particular, still has the support of a well-funded super PAC.

One five-minute discourse on religion later, Smith was a convert: Rubio, she said, was “solid”.

One of the recurring fantasies of many in the media is that Republicans are going to wake up and finally acknowledge that Marco Rubio is their nominee. Only seven states have a winner-take-all system for awarding GOP delegates.

Rubio, who is 44, attended Tarkio College in northwest Missouri for a year on an athletic scholarship, then completed his undergrad work and went to law school in Florida.

Still, all this counts on Trump not steamrolling his way through the nominating process. “You’re fired!” was Trump’s signature catchphrase when he hosted “The Apprentice” television show.

So Rubio is betting he will consolidate his rivals’ support once they drop out – whether it’s Glenn Buck or the party establishment.