For Example:
Why Cruz's Last-Minute Ads Attack Rubio, Not Trump
In the final week before the Iowa caucuses, Ted Cruz’s campaign has quietly shifted its TV attack ads from hitting Donald Trump to hitting Marco Rubio, sparking speculation that he's worried about a late surge by his Florida colleague.
But the final Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows that Cruz isn’t in danger of being overtaken by the Florida senator. Rubio rose from to 15 percent from 12 percent among likely Republican caucus-goers in early January, but the poll also found that he dipped by a few points over the four days that it was conducted. Cruz was in second place with 23 percent, while Trump led with 28 percent.
Cruz’s strategy behind the Rubio attack is more complicated. The Floridian's supporters are more willing to switch their allegiance to another candidate than Trump’s.
A whopping 71 percent of Trump’s supporters say they’re certain they’ll vote for him, compared to just 29 percent who may yet switch, the Iowa Poll found. Among Rubio’s supporters, 47 percent were committed while 53 percent said they may switch to another candidate.
The poll also found that Cruz is the clear second choice of Rubio voters, by a two-to-one margin.
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The Cruz campaign also wants to prevent Rubio from gaining traction and staying in the race, a scenario that could jeopardize Cruz's hopes of being seen as the clear alternative to Trump. A strong third-place finish for Rubio in Iowa could help him going in to New Hampshire, where he and Cruz, among several other candidates, are battling for second place behind Trump in recent polls.
Most evangelicals will see Trump's Bible waiving, attacks on other candidates, and no need for forgiveness as inauthentic.
If after the “shaming” ad, Cruz goes all negative on Rubio, who most people like, isn’t it just reinforcing his “nasty” image?