Iowa voters struggle to choose between Christie, Rubio

WATERLOO, Iowa - One Republican presidential candidate dismissed Washington politics as "crazy." The other boasted of defying the GOP "establishment."

The first spoke of his grandfather, a mason, born on a boat on his way to the United States; the second highlighted that he was the child of immigrants and had struggled to pay off student loans.

Gov. Christie, the first candidate, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the second, both pitched themselves this week to voters in Iowa, at times with parallel selling points. While there were clear contrasts in style and emphasis between the two, voters said they are having a hard time choosing one over the other.

"I think they're both very sincere," said Donovan Burke, 73, a retired trucking fleet coordinator, who saw Rubio on Tuesday in Waterloo and Christie on Wednesday in the same city. He considered them to be direct, noting that "both had that eye contact with me."

Burke wants a candidate who will prioritize national security, and "I like what they're both saying."

Rubio has consistently led Christie in Iowa polls, but the two are running neck-and-neck in New Hampshire. Donald Trump is ahead in New Hampshire, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had overtaken Trump in a number of Iowa polls.

This week, both Rubio and Christie accused Cruz of being weak on defense, casting Cruz's pledge to carpet-bomb ISIS as an example of tough talk, but not policy.

"You certainly can't make the sands of the Middle East glow in the dark if you don't have bombs and you don't have airplanes," Rubio said, arguing for an end to cuts in military spending - a position Christie also has advocated.

Other aspects of their message and delivery, however, diverged. Christie has homed in on terrorism, describing for crowds his fear in not knowing whether his wife was safe on Sept. 11, 2001, and touting his subsequent role as New Jersey's U.S. attorney as equipping him to fight terrorism. In a Waterloo diner during the breakfast hour Wednesday, Christie attributed voter anxiety to "dead bodies" in recent attacks.

Rubio's opening pitch was broader, with loftier language. Facing an audience Tuesday in a performing arts center in Waterloo, Rubio vowed not "just to reclaim the American dream, we will expand it to reach more people."

He also made explicit overtures to conservatives, telling voters that "our rights don't come from government, they come from God," and decrying a "radical left" and an "all-out assault on our constitutional liberties," including Second Amendment rights.

Christie, meanwhile, worked hard to contrast himself with Rubio - and other senators in the race - as more experienced, asserting that his rivals had little practice in making decisions.

Quipping he would "rather jump off a bridge" than be in the Senate, Christie told voters Wednesday in Waterloo: "I cannot imagine anything more inconsequential, once you've been governor and U.S. attorney."

Asked Tuesday whether there were differences between him and Rubio other than their experience, including on issues, Christie didn't specify any. "I'm sure you'll see more of that as the debates seemingly get smaller," he told reporters.

Christie's case for experience resonated with a number of voters, but they didn't find Rubio lacking.

"I think he has enough," said Mary Alcott, 67, a retired customer service worker who said Rubio was her top pick. She ranked Christie second.

Having "good character" matters most, said Alcott, who attended Rubio's event in Waterloo and liked that she "heard right away he's pro-life." (Christie tells voters he is "pro-life for the whole life.")

Fred Grunder, 61, chairman of the Muscatine County GOP, was interested in a number of candidates - Christie and Rubio among them - when he went to a Muscatine coffee shop Tuesday morning to hear the New Jersey governor.

"Rubio and Christie are maybe closer than any other two candidates," Grunder said.

He remained undecided when he left. While Christie "sounds like he has maybe a better handle" on what the job of president entails, Grunder said, "I still don't know."

Christie and Rubio are often described by pundits as competing for voters aligned with the Republican establishment - along with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

While Christie has been mired in low single digits in polls in Iowa - compared to Rubio, who is averaging 12 percent in polls ahead of the Feb. 1 caucuses - some Republicans in the state questioned the strength of Rubio's support.

"The concern with Rubio is, he hasn't put this away," said Craig Robinson, a former political director for the Iowa Republican Party. "Christie makes things very difficult for Rubio in a state like Iowa."

Christie said Tuesday that he intended to split his time on the campaign trail this month between Iowa and New Hampshire. Since his campaign officially began in June, the governor has devoted more of his time to New Hampshire.

Rubio differs from Christie in that he has "a foot in both the establishment camp - because he is seen as a good bet in the fall against Clinton - and also in the conservative antiestablishment camp, with a solid record from the right's perspective," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

But they are vying for many of the same voters.

"The thing that Christie and Rubio have in common is, they're not Trump, and they're not Ted Cruz," said J. Ann Selzer, a longtime Iowa pollster. "That sounds very simplistic, but they're competing for people who have not sort of gotten into riding either of those trains."

mhanna@phillynews.com

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