Marco Rubio’s poll numbers have pundits wondering: Marco Rubio in the news

CLEVELAND – newsnet5.com has partnered with PolitiFact for the first Republican debate, and this is one of a series of fact checks we’ll publish here.

Do we want to see how well Fox shepherds 10 candidates – each accustomed to having the floor to themselves – through a 90-minute program without it devolving into a free-for-all?

It will be interesting to see what the TV ratings for Thursday night’s presidential primary debate look like once they come out. Marco Rubio was consistently excellent, I thought. He got off to a strong start when he announced during the spring only to see all his momentum halted and his poll numbers revert to where they were before he declared once the Donald Trump factor began to be felt. For some reason, though, he didn’t draw as many questions as some of the others.

A prime stage spot for Rubio in the first debate seemed assured just a month ago.

The bigger problem for Rubio, though, may be Bush, York writes. Assuming that poll results in early August can tell us what will happen next winter or spring is absurd. The most Googled candidate in the debate at any point was Ted Cruz – with 67 percent more searches at his peak than the next most-searched candidate’s peak. That hope may wither in the heat of the debates and the stress of the campaign trail but if the GOP establishment expects to stop Trump they need to consider that merely trotting out the gentlemanly moderation of Jeb Bush isn’t going to electrify an electorate that wants more than a plausible and smart candidate.

Rand Paul, another GOP senator whose standing in the presidential chase has dropped, released a video recently of him taking a chainsaw to a copy of the tax code, burning it and stuffing it in a wood chipper.

As much as it pains me to say, Donald Trump is leading the pack in the number one spot for tonight’s battle of wits. Trump isn’t a coherent or dependable spokesman for conservative ideas.

With the election so far away, we doubt many people were excited about hearing from these folks.

By contrast, Kasich did seem willing to challenge party orthodoxy-not only on Medicaid expansion, which he defended with a passionate speech about helping people with mental illnesses and drug addictions, but when he was asked about his opposition to gay marriage.

That was then. Today that charismatic 44-year-old senator is now down by 20 percentage points to Trump and 19 points to his Florida rival, Jeb Bush.

Rubio may well find himself squeezed out of a real chance to win by circumstances beyond his control. “I wasn’t sure I was going to get to talk again”.

We already know he’ll say anything, because there is no accountability. Rubio offers one possible alternative to the Romney scenario.

Before the emergence of Trump, Cruz ruled the Republican social roost.