EXETER, N.H — Except for the occasional bronze medal winner in the Olympics, third-place finishers don’t usually pump their fists in triumph. But don’t tell that to Marco Rubio.
Appearing loose and confident at a boisterous rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday, the Florida senator vowed to unite the warring factions of the Republican Party, a day after his surprisingly strong finish behind Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in Iowa.
“We must, at the end of this process, bring this party and this movement together,’’ Rubio told an audience of several hundred at Exeter Town Hall. “That does not mean we are going to agree on everything. It does not. But we have to be unified. We must come together. And when I’m the nominee, I will bring the party and the conservative movement together.’’
The senator was frequently interrupted by cheers and applause. One man in the audience shouted, “Let’s get the job done!’’ and a woman cried, “We love you, Marco!’’
Rubio’s campaign realizes it now has a chance, with one week remaining until the New Hampshire primary, to elbow aside Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and John Kasich, and consolidate the support of the GOP’s establishment wing.
“It’s now a clear choice for voters: If you don’t want Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio is your guy,’’ said Jim Merrill, Rubio’s senior adviser in New Hampshire.
Hoping to blunt Rubio’s rise, Bush and Christie both harshly attacked him Tuesday. The two, along with Kasich, are staking their fortunes on New Hampshire and evidently see Rubio as a growing threat.
Christie mocked the senator as “someone who has never done anything in his life’’ and called on his fresh-faced rival, the youngest candidate in the race, to “man up’’ and answer questions about his record on immigration and other issues.
“This isn’t a student council election, everybody, this is the election for president of the United States,’’ Christie said. “Let’s get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble for the next week in New Hampshire because I will be ready to see him Saturday night,’’ when the candidates are scheduled to meet for the next GOP debate.
Bush, after deriding Rubio and Cruz on Monday as “back-benchers that have never done anything of consequence in their lives,’’ continued the assault Tuesday. He called the top three finishers in Iowa — Cruz, Trump, and Rubio — “all gifted in their own unique way,’’ but likened their qualifications, unfavorably, to President Obama’s when he took office.
“If you put the lens on of what kind of person can lead, they have no proven record either — none,’’ Bush said.
Cruz, too, slammed Rubio, accusing him of doing an about-face on immigration “to go and stand with Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid, and to lead the fight for amnesty.’’
Merrill said the attacks reflect candidates who are “very frustrated’’ and “flailing.’’
Rubio is undoubtedly enjoying a burst of attention after he captured the support of 23 percent of Iowa’s caucus-goers.
“He exceeded expectations, which has created a tremendous amount of enthusiasm,’’ said Massachusetts state Senator Ryan Fattman, a Rubio supporter.
But New Hampshire voters are famously independent, and Jennifer Horn, chairwoman of the state Republican Party, said all the candidates will have to prove themselves.
“There’s no question that what happened [Monday] night is a good thing for Senator Rubio,’’ said Horn, who is not endorsing a candidate. “But it’s not a guarantee of anything in New Hampshire. What he does on the ground over the next week is very important.’’
Jim O’Sullivan, Eric Moskowitz, and James Pindell of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mlevenson.
