The pressure is on for Sen. Marco Rubio to shine at next debate

WASHINGTON – Some of Marco Rubio’s best moments on the campaign trail have been on the debate stage, where he’s won praise for articulating his message and deftly fending off rivals’ attacks.

Now, the Florida senator faces pressure to rebound from the Feb. 6 debate in Manchester, N.H., where he was slammed for mechanically repeating the same attack line about President Obama several times. He’ll try to recover from that low point when he and the other GOP candidates take the stage on Saturday in Greenville, S.C.

Rubio should return to the fluid but disciplined style that worked well for him in the first seven debates, said Tom Rooney, a Florida congressman and Rubio confidante.

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“He has to do well," said Rooney, who chairs Rubio’s presidential campaign in the Sunshine State. "He has to show that he’s not robotic... Because I know that he’s not. His people are going to have to make sure as they prepare for this debate that he doesn’t come across sounding like that.”

Rubio acknowledged his recent poor performance during a concession speech Tuesday night after finishing fifth in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary. He vowed the mistakes he made Feb. 6 "will never happen again.”

On Wednesday, he went further, telling reporters his stumble “probably cost us a couple of thousand of undecided (voters) at the last moment” and a chance at third place.

One piece of good news for Rubio is that his chief critic – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie – is gone, having dropped out of the race Wednesday after finishing a disappointing sixth in New Hampshire.

Christie, a former federal prosecutor, drew blood at the Feb 6 debate, pouncing when Rubio delivered his stock Obama attack line yet again.

"There it is. There it is," Christie said. "The memorized 25-second speech. There it is, everybody."

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A spokesman for Rubio declined to discuss how he's preparing for Saturday's debate, which will take place a week before South Carolina holds the first-in-the-South GOP presidential primary.

But the senator told reporters this week he’ll look for ways to be more aggressive in repelling on-stage attacks rather than continuing to hammer home the same points about Obama.

“I think the most important issue in this campaign (is) the damage Barack Obama has done,” Rubio said. “But in an effort to do that, you know, you create this perception you’re trying to avoid something. So from now on, if there’s an issue to be dealt with, even if it means we have to tussle a little bit, I’m going to do it.”

Polls show Donald Trump well ahead of the other GOP contenders in South Carolina, with Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and former Florida governor Jeb Bush locked in a race for second.

Saturday's debate could be a game-changer, said David Woodard, a political science professor at Clemson University.

That's what happened in 2012, when former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary thanks to an aggressive debate performance two days earlier. Before that, Gingrich was 10 points down in the polls.

Woodard doesn’t expect similar fireworks this time around. And that should be good for Rubio, he said.

Christie's withdrawal doesn’t just remove Rubio's toughest interrogator from the stage, it also sends a potential warning to the remaining GOP candidates that wounding a rival doesn’t guarantee success.

“If you’re nasty, you can really hurt yourself (among voters),” Woodard said. “Everybody’s going to try and be nice and polite and get through it. And in that circumstance, (Rubio) will come off OK because there’s not much to be gained by being mean.”

Contributing: Rudolph Bell, The Greenville News

Twitter: @ledgeking