Rubio’s surveillance attacks also hit his allies

“I’m not the least bit concerned that Marco Rubio will hurt me with conservatives”.

The governor essentially settled on a one-state strategy, camping out in New Hampshire, doing endless town halls and using his flair for retail politicking to connect with voters.

Earlier in the day, Bush critiqued Christie’s abilities as governor in an interview with MSNBC, saying he has a “better record” as a state’s chief executive.

The freshman senator slammed his Senate colleagues, including Cruz, for voting to weaken National Security Surveillance powers a year ago, and reiterated Congress’ needs to address the growing adoption of encrypted communications platforms, which Paris investigators recently said were used to plan the assaults across the French capital in November.

“He has mostly ignored Jeb Bush because Bush is self-destructing on his own”.

He pointed to New Jersey’s credit downgrades and problems with the state’s pension fund – two issues that Christie blames on his Democratic predecessors – while highlighting Florida’s AAA bond rating and job growth during his tenure from 1999-2007.

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He stopped at context clues.

CHRIS CHRISTIE: These are among the most unsafe and perilous times in our country’s recent history.

Christie has been gaining steam in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary.

Christie said he isn’t bothered by Rubio’s ads.

The senator is well-positioned in New Hampshire, holding the second-place position in most polls, and he was well received by a crowd which awarded his speech a standing ovation and applauded in particular his push for a stronger military.

Conservative Solutions PAC spokesman Jeff Sadosky says the two ads are a “significant part of our multimillion dollar ongoing ad buy in New Hampshire, but yes, there is also a digital campaign that moves with the TV ads”. “Instead of attacking the leader, Christie is going after those who threaten his chances of being the runner-up”.

One commercial says New Jersey residents want to leave the state.

Christie now has turned his fury on Rubio and others, though it’s gone both ways. The governor likened Rubio and another GOP rival, U.S. Sen.

Chris Christie is the Republican presidential candidate to beat in second-to-vote New Hampshire – so say the super PACs helping the New Jersey governor’s rivals. “Weak record.” In a Tuesday interview with The Washington Post, Christie delivered a sharp broadside against Rubio and shrugged off Kasich, vowing that voters would coalesce around his candidacy in spite of his ideological impurity because he projects strength.

Christie, who made his name as a brawler in the rough-and-tumble world of New Jersey politics, said he will not be intimidated by a few negative ads from Rubio. He implicitly conceded the point, telling reporters: “The idea is, if you do well in Iowa and New Hampshire, you will have momentum, and I’m not anxious about what will happen after that”.

Political analyst Matthew Hale said the speech was created to present Christie as the best option for current Trump supporters who will change course.

Republican presidential candidate, New Jersey Gov. Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a campaign stop at a college student convention, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, in Manchester, N.H.

Notably absent are many attacks directed at Trump, who has been polling at the head of the pack since the summer.