"Normally by now a bunch of people would have dropped out", said Milt Janosky, a 74-year-old retiree at a Bush town hall in his hometown of Hollis, New Hampshire.

"Believe me, if I could say 'liberal Jews, ' I would", Killam said.

Trump, who needs a victory in Iowa to set a winning tone to his campaign, kept up his attempt to undermine Cruz's attempt to portray himself as an outsider to the political establishment.

Mr Cruz repeated his criticism of "New York values" yesterday, saying: "People understand exactly what that is".

In a Chronicle poll taken in mid-December, Mr. Trump had held a 7-point lead over Mr. Cruz, 28 percent to 21 percent. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) were among the Senators who opposed the effort to give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

"Being angry about the direction of our country by itself will not be enough", Rubio said, referencing the conservative anger fueling Trump and Cruz' candidacies.

According to Cruz, having "New York values" means that while Donald Trump is against abortion, he is open to legalizing it. In addition, he pointed out that the billionaire does not have a clear position on gays in the military and gay marriage.

The two candidates had clashed at the last Republican debate, on Thursday in Charleston, over the issue of "New York values" with Trump saying Cruz had insulted the city that absorbed the September 11, 2001, attacks and rebounded. "Trump keeps showing up to New Hampshire".

"Don't listen to what any of us say on the campaign trail, but rather follow the biblical principle, 'You shall know them by their fruits.' Ask what they have done", Cruz said, going on to list Trump's long history of donating to Democrats and supporting traditionally Democratic causes.

Of those who said they watched the debate, 37 percent said Mr. Trump did the best, followed by Mr. Cruz at 23 percent and Mr. Rubio at 12 percent. Let's go, okay.' But he's a nasty guy.

The salvos exchanged between the two men, who are both scheduled to appear at a tea party event in SC later Saturday, marks another escalation between the two leading GOP candidates a little more than two weeks before the first votes are cast in Iowa.

Rubio also talked to voters about his plan to make things easier for the working class, including simplifying the tax code and create term limits for members of Congress and Judges. "A lot of them may be changing their minds about Mr. Trump", she said. Trump and Cruz are surging in the polls, in part, by successfully tapping into conservative anger about the direction of the country. Charlie Condon, the former attorney general of SC, outlined how they would focus on what opponents see as Mr Trump's socially liberal streak.