Rubio betting on a long-haul strategy to win GOP nomination

BETTENDORF, Iowa — Under pressure to emerge as the Republican mainstream’s presidential contender, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is increasingly relying on a national strategy as he lowers expectations for February’s primary contests.

Rubio in recent days has cast himself as a passionate evangelical conservative, a national security hawk, an empathizer of immigrants in the country illegally, and someone who can bring new voters to the Republican Party.

[...] that’s exactly the theme he projected as he campaigned through Iowa this week before a trip to New Hampshire, where he hopes to rise from a cluster of so-called establishment alternatives to Trump and Cruz.

Given Jeb Bush’s continued struggles, some major Republican donors and elected officials see Rubio as their party’s best candidate to defeat the leading Democrat, Hillary Clinton, in this fall’s general election.

[...] in a year when voters appear to be rejecting insiders, Rubio has struggled to tap the antiestablishment anger, putting him behind Cruz and Trump with time running out before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses.