Marco Rubio went into Thursday night’s debate in South Carolina with a nagging problem. The Florida senator has been sitting around third place in the polls, including in Iowa and New Hampshire, for weeks, while Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have battled it out at the top. Without some kind of intervention, it seemed possible Rubio could fade away.

That would have happened if Rubio had stumbled badly Thursday in North Charleston—unlikely, given his natural political skills and track record. A top-level turn from Rubio, where he truly dominated the stage, might have boosted him significantly in New Hampshire and in national polls. That was also unlikely, given the presence of other strong-willed candidates on the stage. Instead, Rubio gave what he has in every debate this cycle: a solid, at times excellent, performance that showed both why he’s the best among the establishment-acceptable candidates and why he’s struggled to break out so far in the campaign.