Marco Rubio group, Conservative Options PAC "I'm the one running for president that's ever scored a success against Obamacare".
It is Rubio, in this analysis, who has room to expand his reach.
"Of all the candidates, I think Marco is the closest, has the potential to be, in terms of principles and values and the ability to articulate those things, the candidate that we really need in the 21st century", said John McClaughry of the Ethan Allen Institute.
This week, Rubio has worked to ameliorate an impression that he seldom visits New Hampshire during a three-day swing through the Granite State. However, the senator's rivals have seized on a slew of press reports in recent weeks that have questioned his strategy of holding a lighter campaign schedule and ground operation in the early states when compared with some of the other candidates.
Rubio said he believes voters around the country are unsettled by dramatic changes in the economy that have wiped out whole industries.
When asked if they would consider voting for each of the candidates, 83 percent say they would consider voting for Rubio, 81 percent say they would consider voting for Kasich, 80 percent say they would consider voting for Christie, 74% say they would consider voting for Cruz, 50 percent say they would consider voting for Bush, and 37 percent say they would consider voting for Trump. For example, the president is pursuing policies that make energy more expensive while weakening the military and intelligence services weaker during risky times.
Tuesday's announcement suggests that "Huckabee's lost his mojo in the state", said Ouachita Baptist University political science professor Hal Bass, adding that the ex-governor's position as "favorite son seems to be weakening or deteriorating".
Rubio seeks to take that frustration and turn it into a motivator to address the issues that he cited. Rubio said he was able to help secure a victory against the Affordable Care Act by defunding a "bailout fund" for the exchanges.
On the flip side, 57 percent of likely Republican primary voters say they would never vote for Trump, 47 percent say they would never vote for Bush, and 40 percent say they would never vote for Paul. "I think we've got a vast tidal wave of support coming".
"This is not a serious man that has serious plans", Bush said Monday night at an American Legion hall in Alton, bringing up Trump's name three times. He said without the US, there is no North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Finally, Christie is very much in the hunt in New Hampshire at 13 percent, in a statistical tie with Rubio and Cruz. "This is a time of urgency", he said.
After receiving two questions in the same day on the embargo against Cuba, for example, Rubio quipped, "This is a long way to travel to talk about Cuba!"
