WASHINGTON — Republican presidential contenders shifted their fire away from Donald Trump and trained it on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio Tuesday in an effort to scuff up a leading establishment figure.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has gained strength in New Hampshire and is running close behind second-place contender Rubio in the nation’s first primary state, slammed Rubio Monday for repeatedly missing votes in the Senate.
“Dude, show up to work and vote . . . and if you don’t want to, then quit,” Christie huffed at a campaign stop in Iowa, picking up an attack that Trump also has used.
Then Christie mocked Rubio, who is considered one of the GOP’s strongest communicators and whom some insiders favor to take on Hillary Clinton in November.
“So, I can’t wait to turn on C-SPAN 2 because he gives a good speech, Marco, and I want to hear his stirring speech that’s going to try to persuade people on the floor of the Senate not to vote for this awful spending bill,” Christie continued.
“Except he never showed up. He was totally opposed to it and didn’t go there to vote no. Then what’s it matter that you’re opposed to it?”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has tangled with former protégé Rubio while trying to fend off a series of attacks from Trump, entered the scrum when a pro-Bush super PAC began unloading on Rubio in a new TV ad buy in Iowa.
“Politics first, that’s the Rubio way,” says the 30-second ad aired by Right to Rise, which is spending $1.4 million on the airwaves in the next two weeks, the Des Moines Register reported.
The ad whacks Rubio for hitting big fund-raisers and missing key Senate hearings following terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino.
“Over the last three years Rubio has missed important national-security hearings and missed more total votes than any other senator,” says a voice-over.
The ads come as Rubio kicked off a bus tour in Iowa touting the support of South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, who heads the House Benghazi committee that interrogated Hillary Clinton.
Trump tweeted Tuesday: “I hope @TGowdySC does better for Rubio than he did at the #Benghazi hearings, which were a total disaster for Republicans & America!”
Rubio had to scratch the first day of his bus tour due to snow.
He’s still playing catch-up in Iowa with Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has racked up dozens more visits to the state, which holds its caucuses on Feb. 1.