Rubio says voters will swing his way; knocks Cruz on phone-snooping

Sen. Marco Rubio said voters are still mulling their options and will flock to his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination over time.

Citing his national security credentials, he said he is best equipped to fight terrorism and that if the Islamic State had lobbyists, it would applaud the Senate’s vote last year to halt the National Security Agency’s phone-snooping program.

Mr. Rubio, Florida Republican, has defended the NSA program as a necessary tool to fight terrorism and has criticized one of his Republican primary foes — Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — in particular on the issue.

“We feel very very confident about where we stand and where we’re going to be when this is over,” Mr. Rubio said.

Mr. Rubio has picked up key endorsements from fellow Republican lawmakers and has emerged as a key option for members of the party establishment who think Mr. Cruz and businessman Donald Trump are too out of step with the mainstream.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released Sunday puts Mr. Rubio in third in Iowa, grabbing 13 percent of likely caucusgoers compared with 28 percent for Mr. Cruz and 24 percent for Mr. Trump.

“They’re still shopping. You can see it; you can sense it in your conversations,” Mr. Rubio said.