Man of the moment Marco Rubio hit the ground running on Tuesday, eager to capitalise on his strong Iowa showing and convince US voters he is the singular Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton in N
Man of the moment Marco Rubio hit the ground running on Tuesday, eager to capitalise on his strong Iowa showing and convince US voters he is the singular Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton in November.
The charismatic Senator from Florida did not win Monday night’s Iowa caucuses but he definitely exceeded expectations. Arch-conservative Senator Ted Cruz came in first, while Mr Rubio finished a strong third, just a percentage point behind Donald Trump.
Barely after midnight, Mr Rubio was on the ground in New Hampshire, preparing for a manic one-week sprint to the state’s primary on February 9 and declaring himself capable of uniting the fractious Republican Party.
“When I’m our nominee I will bring the party and the conservative movement together. I will unify us so we can win,” he told about 700 people packed into the Exeter town hall.
Mr Rubio begins what he called “the greatest eight days in American politics” as the undisputed leader among the four more traditional candidates.
“He outperformed them 10 to one,” Cary Covington, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, said of his establishment rivals John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie.
“That is very important to the Republican Party establishment, (because) they’re looking for someone to rally behind.”
The establishment largely finds Mr Trump and Mr Cruz objectionable, with concerns that the party will lose the general election if one of the two wins the nomination.
Mr Rubio raced out onto the campaign trail early Tuesday, pressing the flesh at an airport diner and making other stops in the small state that holds the political spotlight for the next week.
Mr Cruz is polling in second place after Mr Trump, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average.
