MANCHESTER, N.H. — Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was hammered as callow, ambitious and lacking in accomplishment during the Republican presidential debate here on Saturday night, as Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey led an all-out assault to try to halt Mr. Rubio’s growing momentum ahead of the critical New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.
Mr. Rubio, facing the fiercest attacks yet of the Republican race after his strong third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, looked rattled at times and faltered as he pushed back with scripted lines about President Obama that Mr. Christie mocked mercilessly. While the Republicans clashed on issues like abortion and torture, the concerted effort to take down Mr. Rubio dominated the debate.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Donald J. Trump also pounced on Mr. Rubio, whose rising popularity in New Hampshire poses a grave threat to their candidacies. But it was Mr. Christie who was the most pointed and personal in his derision of Mr. Rubio — a strategy that may not ultimately bring him votes, but could wound Mr. Rubio just as he has been ascending.
“You have not been involved in a consequential decision where you had to be held accountable — you just simply haven’t,” Mr. Christie told Mr. Rubio early in the debate. Charging Mr. Rubio with taking credit for policies but then skipping Senate votes on them, he said, “That’s not leadership. That’s truancy.”
The scorn aimed at Mr. Rubio, a 44-year-old first-term senator, came as voters in New Hampshire and nationwide are still taking the measure of him, though he is well positioned to surge nationally if he has a strong showing in the primary here. Still, a Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll last week indicated there was still fluidity in the New Hampshire electorate: 33 percent of Republican primary voters here said they might change their minds before Tuesday.
The intensity of the debate reflected the stakes, as several candidates face possible elimination if they fail to finish strongly here. Mr. Christie, who had just $1 million left for his campaign at the start of the year, is almost certain to exit the race if he does not outperform his establishment-aligned rivals. Mr. Bush and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio are facing nearly as much pressure to demonstrate that they can appeal to voters after being overshadowed by more conservative candidates. And Mr. Trump, after sustaining a surprise loss in Iowa in part because of his lackluster organization, needs to prove he can turn out his supporters and win in a state he has dominated for months.
Mr. Christie was pugnacious from his first statement, while Mr. Bush mixed ridicule — mostly aimed at Mr. Rubio — with sobering lectures, fighting about his policy ideas on missile defense and eminent domain. Mr. Kasich struck a more positive and pragmatic tone as he sought to reach moderate voters, saying his record of job growth in Ohio was a template for the nation.
Mr. Rubio seemed most unsettled when, during the early exchange with Mr. Christie, he attempted to pivot to attacking Mr. Obama for “trying to change this country” and leading the nation to “disaster.” Mr. Christie pounced, suggesting that Mr. Rubio was simply reciting rehearsed sound bites.
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