MANCHESTER, N.H. — Marco Rubio is bracing for impact.

Donald Trump may be back on the debate stage but Rubio’s the candidate everyone’s looking to take down.


“There is no question that the target on our back has increased in size significantly,” said Todd Harris, a senior Rubio adviser. “There is a lot of desperation in this field right now and a lot of people feeling like the only way to lift their campaigns up is to try to tear us down.”

Rising in the polls after his third-place finish in Iowa, Rubio poses the biggest immediate threat to the largest portion of the remaining field. Chris Christie, John Kasich and Jeb Bush are all banking much of their candidacy on outperforming New Hampshire, and with signs that Rubio is separating from the long-bunched pack of mainstream Republicans, there is fresh imperative to knock him down.

Christie has started calling Rubio “the boy in the bubble.” And Bush declared Friday on MSNBC, “His record of accomplishment is slim.”

Both governors — who have tag-teamed in attacking Rubio’s accomplishments and preparedness on the trail in recent days — have shied away from direct confrontations with Rubio in past debates. Bush did so after their first encounter was a flop for him in October (“Someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you,” Rubio snapped at him) and Christie in hopes of appearing above the political fray.

According to his team, Kasich, who has tried to portray himself as 2016’s sunny optimist, wants to steer clear of the expected pile-up with the hope that the sparring will clear a lane for him. He celebrated his 100th town hall in the state Friday and his campaign team successfully pressured his super PAC to pull down a negative ad that used New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte to attack Rubio earlier in the week.

“Late deciders aren’t going to decide based on tearing into someone,” said a Kasich adviser. “They want to see a positive vision.”

Plus, there’s Ted Cruz, who faced and then exceeded sky-high expectations in Iowa and now enters the second contest aiming to snatch second place away from Rubio.

Cruz’s team sees New Hampshire as one of the few early states Rubio has a chance to win, despite trailing Trump badly in the polls. And they want to stunt any momentum he might have before South Carolina in two weeks.

“If he doesn't win in New Hampshire, does he win in South Carolina? Or beyond?” asked a Cruz adviser.

The Saturday debate on ABC will be the 2016 campaign’s most intimate to date, featuring only seven candidates, including Ben Carson, and the first without an earlier undercard. (Carly Fiorina is still pushing for inclusion.)

Back in the middle is Trump, the ultimate wild card.

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, insisted Trump wouldn’t be targeting any opponent in particular after skipping the last debate and finishing second in Iowa. But he warned that Trump was a skilled “counter-puncher.”

"If somebody attacks Mr. Trump we will respond in kind — times 10,” Lewandowski said.

Heading into the debate, Tim Miller, Bush’s communications director, said his candidate was most focused on contrasting himself with Trump, aiming to capture the “big slice of the electorate that’s frustrated with the idea that Donald Trump could be the nominee.”

But in paid advertising, Bush and his super PAC continue to hound Rubio. On Friday, Bush rolled out a biting new ad that features a stammering Rick Santorum, who endorsed Rubio earlier this week, failing to name a single Rubio accomplishment.

Looming over Saturday’s showdown is if the simmering animosity inside the Bush operation toward Rubio would bubble up before a national audience.

Others arrive in Manchester with different axes to grind. Carson has been smarting since his fourth-place showing in Iowa over what he has called Cruz’s “dirty trick” — the distribution of news that Carson would be heading to Florida instead of straight to New Hampshire. Just as the caucuses began, Cruz’s campaign passed along to Iowa supporters a CNN report insinuating Carson was suspending his campaign but not the follow-up that he was only fetching fresh clothes.

Cruz and Rubio kept relatively quiet schedules on Friday and Saturday for debate preparations and some rest, with each only holding a Friday evening rally. Christie and Kasich continued to barnstorm the state with multiple events.

“We fully expect people to come at us on Saturday night,” said Harris, the Rubio adviser. “But we’re going to be ready for them.”