Did Marco Rubio Win The Debate

It was a good night for Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. It was a rough one for Jeb Bush and the CNBC moderators.

And for everyone else onstage at the Republican presidential debate in Boulder, Colo., the outcome was basically the status quo.

It’s hard to overstate how poorly Mr. Bush is viewed by Republicans, including his supporters, after a debate that fell a week after he slashed his budget and acknowledged that the election terrain has not looked the way he expected it to.

Mired in single digits in the polls, he failed to land the punch he needed. Mr. Bush, who in his opening remarks said he did not want to spend the race tearing down other people, tried to hit Mr. Rubio over missing votes in the Senate, an issue raised by one of the moderators. Mr. Rubio effectively swatted down the attack from Mr. Bush, who tried to respond. Mr. Rubio spoke over him and mocked his previous comments comparing his campaign to the comeback effort of Senator John McCain in his 2008 presidential race.

For Mr. Rubio, who rode the Tea Party wave of anti-establishment anger in 2010 to win a contest against Charlie Crist, a Republican who was then the Florida governor, the attacks from Mr. Bush have helped. Mr. Bush has been running an establishment-focused candidacy, filled with endorsements and donor support, that is similar to the one Mr. Crist ran against Mr. Rubio. That has helped Mr. Rubio, who has started to be viewed through the lens of Washington after his time in the Senate, regain some of his outsider credibility.

Mr. Bush should have the resources to keep going for a while. But he will have to show the interest and ability to grind out a win that he hasn’t yet demonstrated. And many Republicans believe Mr. Rubio will finally start to see the donor support he has been poised to get for many weeks.

Tonight was an opportunity for Rubio. He’s rising in the polls and he needed to capitalize on his momentum. I thought he did that. There were no obviously bad moments for him. And he managed to avoid taking any direct hits, including from Jeb and the two frontrunners. Even his dumb answers were received well. When asked about his greatest weakness, he said he loves America too much. When asked why he never shows up for work at the Senate, he said it’s because America needs him. And the audience loved it. I suspect he’ll become the preferred establishment alternative to Bush, if he isn’t already. Rubio’s young, polished and reasonable-sounding enough to be competitive in a general election. He can’t beat Hillary, but he may be the best shot they have.