Rubio says Cruz ad strategy indicates concern
CLINTON, Iowa — Marco Rubio said Ted Cruz has made him the target of new negative ads because he considers Rubio a threat, even while the Florida senator continued to downplay expectations for his own caucus night showing.
The Texas senator has shifted nearly all of his negative ads away from businessman Donald Trump, targeting Rubio instead, The New York Times reported. Rubio said it's clear evidence that the Cruz camp is concerned.
"Obviously they must be concerned about something," Rubio told reporters. "You don’t spend money attacking a candidate if you’re not concerned about them."
But asked whether he expects to crack the top three on caucus night, Feb. 1, Rubio said, "We just want to do the best that we can here."
"We want to get as many voters to caucus for us Monday night as possible and we’ll see what that leads to," he said.
The most recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll puts Rubio at third place with 12% support, behind Cruz in first and Trump in second. Other polls of Iowa have Trump leading over Cruz.
USA TODAY
Beyond Trump and Cruz, Iowa Republican rivals vie for third place
Rubio pushed the electability argument at events in Muscatine, Clinton and Dubuque — part of a campaign stretch that has kept him in the state every day since Jan. 23.
It's an argument that subtly hints the Cruz and Trump cannot unify the GOP and therefore cannot defeat the Democratic nominee.
"Anger alone will not solve our problems. Anger will motivate us," he said. "... Of all the choices you have, I know that I can unify this party in a conservative movement. Because if we’re not united we can’t win. I know that I can take our movement and reach people that haven’t voted for us before. People who are living the way I grew up. People who are facing struggles I once faced."
It's an argument that resonates with Bruce Martin, a 61-year-old pastor and Muscatine resident, who said he wants someone who can win.
"In a way I think Rubio’s much more electable than Cruz," Martin said. "He’s been appealing across the board to a greater number of people. Cruz is pulling us too far one way and Trump is just inflammatory. The two of them cannot be our Republican nominee. That would be disastrous."
In Dubuque, Rubio drew a larger crowd of about 400 and spoke for about 30 minutes before taking another 30 minutes of questions. Iowans asked him about topics ranging from Social Security to returning to the gold standard.
"He’s for the people," said Cindy Meyer, a 52-year-old hospital worker from Colesburg who attended the event in Dubuque. "I like the fact that he wants to change the country back to the way it was when he grew up. Because I know I think about my kids too how this country is — it's so hateful. And I think his ideas are to get it back so that, you know, people can not hate each other so much and you know, become a country again."
CLINTON, Iowa — Marco Rubio said Ted Cruz has made him the target of new negative ads because he considers Rubio a threat, even while the Florida senator continued to downplay expectations for his own caucus night showing.
The Texas senator has shifted nearly all of his negative ads away from businessman Donald Trump, targeting Rubio instead, The New York Times reported. Rubio said it's clear evidence that the Cruz camp is concerned.
"Obviously they must be concerned about something," Rubio told reporters. "You don’t spend money attacking a candidate if you’re not concerned about them."
But asked whether he expects to crack the top three on caucus night, Feb. 1, Rubio said, "We just want to do the best that we can here."
"We want to get as many voters to caucus for us Monday night as possible and we’ll see what that leads to," he said.
The most recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll puts Rubio at third place with 12% support, behind Cruz in first and Trump in second. Other polls of Iowa have Trump leading over Cruz.
USA TODAY
Beyond Trump and Cruz, Iowa Republican rivals vie for third place
Rubio pushed the electability argument at events in Muscatine, Clinton and Dubuque — part of a campaign stretch that has kept him in the state every day since Jan. 23.
It's an argument that subtly hints the Cruz and Trump cannot unify the GOP and therefore cannot defeat the Democratic nominee.
"Anger alone will not solve our problems. Anger will motivate us," he said. "... Of all the choices you have, I know that I can unify this party in a conservative movement. Because if we’re not united we can’t win. I know that I can take our movement and reach people that haven’t voted for us before. People who are living the way I grew up. People who are facing struggles I once faced."
It's an argument that resonates with Bruce Martin, a 61-year-old pastor and Muscatine resident, who said he wants someone who can win.
"In a way I think Rubio’s much more electable than Cruz," Martin said. "He’s been appealing across the board to a greater number of people. Cruz is pulling us too far one way and Trump is just inflammatory. The two of them cannot be our Republican nominee. That would be disastrous."
In Dubuque, Rubio drew a larger crowd of about 400 and spoke for about 30 minutes before taking another 30 minutes of questions. Iowans asked him about topics ranging from Social Security to returning to the gold standard.
"He’s for the people," said Cindy Meyer, a 52-year-old hospital worker from Colesburg who attended the event in Dubuque. "I like the fact that he wants to change the country back to the way it was when he grew up. Because I know I think about my kids too how this country is — it's so hateful. And I think his ideas are to get it back so that, you know, people can not hate each other so much and you know, become a country again."
0 comments :
Post a Comment