Rubio comes under withering criticism in Republican debate

[...] it’s the nation’s first primary and the next in a series of clues into what Americans want in their next president.

Republican hopeful Marco Rubio is downplaying his rough outing in Saturday night’s GOP debate, while touting his overall campaign momentum after his third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, hoping to use that momentum to boost his chances in Tuesday’s contest.

Donald Trump, who finished second in Iowa, is pleased with his debate performance and place atop New Hampshire’s GOP polls, and he’s doubling down Sunday on his call for the U.S. to reinstitute waterboarding and even harsher treatment of foreign prisoners.

On the Democratic side, New Hampshire favorite Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton — who narrowly won Iowa — are avoiding predictions about Tuesday and looking beyond to South Carolina and Nevada, the next two states up in the nomination process.

Christie, fresh from a vigorous debate performance in which he battered Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as unprepared for the presidency, told a town hall crowd Sunday in Hampton, N.H., that his exchanges with Rubio showed who’s ready.

The three governors have pitched their experience to GOP voters for months, but have struggled to keep Rubio from establishing himself as the best alternative to Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won Iowa.

Clinton made a side trip Sunday to Flint, Mich., to meet with local residents and officials about that city’s ongoing water crises that has left residents with lead poisoning.