Bush ‘melts’ when he attacks me

“He’s really smart. I was really impressed, with all the variety of issues that we talked (about) today, how much he knew about everything and was right on top of it”, she said.

Mr. Rubio, hoping to regain his Iowa momentum, vowed to build the kind of coalition – including conservatives and establishment Republicans – that will be needed to defeat the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Ted Cruz, the Texas senator who won in Iowa, is in the mix in New Hampshire with Iowa third-place finisher Marco Rubio and a trio of governors seeking to stop Rubio’s rise after his uneven debate performance over the weekend.

“She called him a pussy”, Trump gloated to claps and groans. His campaign even circulated a CNN tracking poll showing a 1-point gain in a poll taken before and after the debate.

“It’s less about Cruz and more about Cruz delivering a punch to another candidate – like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio”.

Donald Trump flashes a thumbs up after finishing second in the Iowa caucuses last week. Jeb shot back: “Donald Trump, you’re the loser!”.

Trump has built his campaign in part around his self-declared reputation as a “winner”, and a loss in New Hampshire would intensify doubts that he can translate opinion poll support into votes.

Rubio and Cruz are neck-and-neck for second place.

Rubio, who was roundly mocked for reciting rote talking points over and over in Saturday’s debate, was working to flip the script, arguing that if he sounded repetitive, it was only because he was consistent. This mattered because it confirmed Chris Christie’s criticism of Rubio as someone who is “scripted” and gives “memorized” speeches. “I’ve never seen anything like it”.

At the rally, Rubio didn’t sound chastened by a stumbling into repeating the same line three times in minutes as the nation watched.

“We’re going to be able to say Merry Christmas to each other again”.

Rubio also stressed his message of electability with a pitch he has become accustomed to making. “I’m the one they don’t want to run against and that’s why they attack me more than anyone else”. The Clinton campaign said last week that it raised a total of $15 million in January, falling short of Sanders’ $20 million raised during the same period.