Three GOP candidates battle for third place in NH primary

Three candidates are fighting for third place in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Republican primary after what looks like a resounding win for Donald Trump. 

{mosads}John Kasich broke away from the establishment pack to take second place in the race, but bunched up and fighting for third are Ted Cruz, with 11.5 percent, Jeb Bush, with 11.1 percent, and Marco Rubio, at 10.6 percent, with 88 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press.

Rubio had been in second place in polls last week, but GOP rivals and Democrats both have been criticizing him harshly for sticking heavily to talking points at Saturday’s GOP presidential debate and on the stump. 

He told a crowd gathered in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday night, “We’re still watching the numbers. We’ll see where they end up. A lot of people are disappointed. I’m disappointed. But I want to tell you that disappointment is on me, not you. I did not do well on Saturday night, so listen to this: That will never happen again!”

That provided an opening for Kasich to take second and left Rubio to battle with Bush, who had been lagging in the polls, and Cruz, the winner of the Iowa caucuses