Rubio stumbled badly in the last Republican presidential debate, giving a robotic performance in an exchange with New Jersey governor Chris Christie

“I’m disappointed with tonight,” Marco Rubio told supporters after his underwhelming performance in the New Hamshire primary on Tuesday.

“But I want to tell you that disappointment is not on you,” the Florida senator said. “It’s on me. It’s on me.”

Rubio had stumbled badly in the last Republican presidential debate, giving a robotic performance in a critical exchange with New Jersey governor Chris Christie just two days before voters took to the polls. And despite Rubio and his team’s best efforts to brush the moment aside, the senator acknowledged as the results rolled in that it mattered.

“I did not do well on Saturday night,” Rubio said. “So listen to this: that will never happen again.”

The crowd of voters and volunteers erupted at first in disagreement, seeking to cheer him on despite his lackluster showing. But they quickly broke into thunderous applause as he switched gears to a more optimistic outlook.

“Tonight we did not wind up where we wanted to be, but that does not change where we are going to wind up at the end of this process,” Rubio said.

“Not all days are going to be great days,” he added. “We’re not always going to get things the way we want, but in the end I’m confident that not only will this campaign be successful, but America will be successful as well.”

It was a strikingly humble concession speech from a candidate who arrived in New Hampshire riding a wave of momentum after a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses. Before the fateful debate, Rubio looked poised to consolidate support for his candidacy by crowding out the so-called establishment lane all vying to emerge as an alternative to frontrunners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

But a contentious back-and-forth with Christie on Saturday at the debate got the best of Rubio, who had until then flourished in most debates. The New Jersey governor needled Rubio over his relative inexperience, essentially portraying the first-term senator as a scripted, empty suit married to the same set of talking points.

Somewhat inexplicably, Rubio played directly into the attack by repeating the same line at least four times in response. Rubio and his aides sought to mitigate the damage by focusing not on his repetition, but the essence of his attack on Barack Obama’s agenda for the country.

But the narrative had been set, and it showed even as early exit polls from New Hampshire trickled in.



Nearly two-thirds of respondents said the most recent debates had affected their decision, according to one poll. Another found that just under half of Republican primary voters valued experience when casting their vote, whereas only 11% prioritized electability – the latter of which has been at the core of Rubio’s closing argument.

The energy among Rubio’s supporters remained palpable as the senator addressed the room. Chants of “Mar-co! Mar-co!” rang out several times, and boos were even offered when Rubio informed the crowd he had called Trump – the winner of the New Hampshire primary – to congratulate him.

“No no, he worked hard,” Rubio told them. “He earned it.”

The senator then centered much of his speech on the core themes of his campaign, through which he has charted one of the more rapid political ascensions in recent years. Speaking of his father, a Cuban immigrant who worked as a bartender, Rubio waxed poetic on the essence of the American Dream and his view of what the election was about.

“I am confident that when this process is done, this nation will rediscover and re-embrace the principles that made her great,” he said.

Looking ahead to the next contest, now all the more critical for his presidential ambitions, Rubio concluded: “South Carolina, we’re on our way.”