Rubio Campaign Press Release - READ: The Reviews Are In, Marco Rubio Shined at the Vegas Debate

Marco stood out on last night's debate stage, as he has this whole campaign season, for his clarity of vision and command of the issues — especially on the question of how to keep Americans safe.

Here's what Iowans woke up to this morning:

Marco stood strong last night on a couple crucial national security questions:

He laid out the importance of the intelligence community's metadata program that Senator Cruz voted to dramatically curtail just this year, and made it clear that he wouldn't be content to work alongside anti-American dictators.

In Nevada, one of the state's most respected political correspondents, Jon Ralston, said Marco beat back attacks from Senator Cruz and Rand Paul:

Rubio outdid Cruz in the early rounds . . . What I found most interesting, though, is that Rubio came under sustained assault from Cruz and Paul and did not lose his cool.

That was good. Rubio won first round.

— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) December 16, 2015

Yes. https://t.co/myP5QENoLF

— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) December 16, 2015

Elsewhere in Nevada, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported that grassroots activists were impressed by Marco's strength:

"I thought that Rubio bested Cruz throughout the entire debate," [Kim Bacchus, president of Washoe Republican Women] said. "I don't think Cruz came across as strongly as he needed to to justify his second place position in Iowa."

Conservative leaders were impressed, too. Here's what National Review editor Rich Lowry had to say:

The debate was defined by several substantial and intense exchanges between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. I'd score it for Rubio on points, but it was close and both senators are obviously exceptionally skilled. I think Rubio had the better of the argument on the NSA on the merits and on the question of whether or not ISIS can be defeated from the air (it can't).

The Weekly Standard's Steve Hayes saw it the same: Marco triumphed on the substance.

I think Rubio is right on the merits and his view is probably more in line with where Republican primary voters are, particularly given the rising anxiety about terrorism after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. I'd give the exchange to Rubio on points.

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board struck a similar note:

Perhaps the most revealing exchange came on the powers of the National Security Agency, where Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich in particular squared off against Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Messrs. Paul and Cruz were among the few Senate Republicans to vote for the USA Freedom Act this summer that barred the bulk collection of telephone records.

Mr. Rubio has been hitting Mr. Cruz's vote on the campaign trail, and he rightly pointed out that "now the intelligence agency is not able to quickly gather records and look at them to see who these terrorists are calling. And the terrorist that attacked us in San Bernardino was an American citizen, born and raised in this country. And I bet you we wish we would have had access to five years of his records so we could see who he was working with."

Later, when it came to immigration, Marco stoody by his long-held position on the issue, while Senator Cruz was roundly panned for flip-flopping:

Cruz misleads on his position on immigrant legalization. Tried to strike path to citizenship, but not legalization. https://t.co/xVE3GzLwIp

— Brit Hume (@brithume) December 16, 2015

Ted Cruz says he does not "intend" to support legalization — a giant escape hatch if he needs it

— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) December 16, 2015

The reviews for Marco's vision for American strength were positive all around:

Marco Rubio has the only coherent geopolitical narrative on this stage.

— Tim Fernholz (@TimFernholz) December 16, 2015

.@MarcoRubio doing a good job explaining the need for a stronger military. #defense #GOPDebate

— Jim Talent (@JimTalent) December 16, 2015

Excellent, realistic view of the Mid East. Did his homework. @marcorubio #GOPDebate

— Lisa Daftari (@LisaDaftari) December 16, 2015

Once again Rubio shows he gets foreign policy and the internal dynamics of the Arab Middle East.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) December 16, 2015

The Rubio answer on Iran, Syria and ISIS — w/a brief history of the fight — was the best single answer of the debate thus far. #gopdebate

— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) December 16, 2015

And sure enough, the post-debate reaction found people noting that Marco come out with the better of these exchanges — thanks most of all to the informed, serious approach he's taken to national security questions, and his strong record.

Hillsdale College's John Miller had high praise for Marco, too:

Marco Rubio showed once again that among Republicans, he may be the most gifted communicator of his generation. He currently occupies the sweet spot that WFB defined: most electable conservative.

It was a long night, but Marco's not slowing down.

The debate ended 11 hours ago and Marco Rubio is already on the trail in Iowa pic.twitter.com/TWy8eWv4Bp

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) December 16, 2015

This morning, he was off to Iowa, where he continued to focus on the issue at the top of so many voters' minds:

How to keep America safe. Stay tuned for more coverage!