ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Marco Rubio on Friday shrugged off Jeb Bush and the struggling former Florida governor’s attacks on his surging candidacy, saying he was focused on his own campaign and wouldn’t respond in kind.
The Florida senator served as the speaker of his state’s house of representatives when Bush was governor, and they used to be political allies. But Bush, the one-time Republican 2016 front-runner, now trails Rubio nationally as well as in Iowa and other states. Rubio said he assumes that Bush’s campaign advisors “convinced” the former governor that attacking him would help him get back into the contention.
Rubio remarked that he doubted the strategy would work, and warned that it was counterproductive for Republicans to undercut each other’s fitness for the presidency if the goal is defeating presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton next November. Rubio spoke to reporters in the conservative, northwest corner of Iowa after addressing a gymnasium filled with about 1,000 likely GOP caucus goers, The crowd gathered to hear from him, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; businesswoman Carly Fiorina and 2012 caucus winner Rick Santorum.
“It’s part of a strategic decision they’ve made and they have a right to make it. I just don’t think it’s a smart thing for Republicans to do Hillary Clinton’s job for her,” Rubio said. “I can’t control other people’s campaigns, I can control mine, and mine is going to continue to be about the future of America. And if there are policy differences between the candidates we look forward to discussing those.”
“I don’t agree with that strategy but [Bush] obviously has a right to run his own campaign,” Rubio added. “I’m not running against any of the people running for president, I’m running for president. I think we have a very talented field.”
Rubio leads Bush nationally, and in Iowa, in the RealClearPolitics average of polls gauging GOP sentiment. Both nationally and in Iowa, Rubio is running third and Bush is running fifth. The two candidates are tied in New Hampshire, according to the latest polling average. Bush attacked Rubio in the Wednesday evening debate cablecast by CNBC over missing Senate votes in order to campaign for president. The critiques fell flat and Rubio’s counterattack got the better of him.
Rubio supporters have subtly been signaling that they increasingly don’t view Bush as a threat. On Friday, the independent super PAC supporting Rubio’s candidacy issued a memo on the state of the race and listed the candidates it saw positioned to win the Republican nomination. Bush was not one of them; businessman/entertainer Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas were. Rubio ranks first in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings.
Meanwhile, Rubio welcomed the support of Republican super donor, financier Paul Singer of New York. The New York Times first reported that Singer, a coveted GOP bundler and contributor to super PACs, had decided to back the Florida senator. Singer’s decision is another blow to Bush, who was competing for Singer’s support, and a big get for Rubio.
“Obviously he’s someone who is successful at raising money, so I’m grateful,” Rubio said. “When people donate to us they buy into our agenda. And I’m glad that he has. It’ll help us with resources. But resources alone are not enough. You have to have the right ideas, the right principles and convince voters that you’re the right person for the job. But we’re grateful to have his help.”
