Rubio steers clear of Trump; speaks to Hilton Head crowd

Presidential contender Marco Rubio shied away from taking on Republican front-runner Donald Trump during a campaign stop on Hilton Head Island Saturday.

The freshman senator from Florida did not even mention the billionaire's name when asked by a young boy in the audience how he planned to compete with Trump.

"I like everybody that's running," Rubio responded during the town-hall styled forum held at Hilton Head Island High School.

"We have good candidates," he continued. "None of our candidates is a socialist. And none of our candidates is under FBI investigation."

That statement -- seemingly directed at Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton -- received some of the loudest applause of the event, attended by more than a thousand people.

Originally scheduled for the high school's cultural center next door, organizers changed the venue to the school's gymnasium, which holds 1,500, after RSVPs surpassed the center's capacity. The event marked Rubio's second visit to Beaufort County following a Nov. 12 speech.S.C. voters will head to the polls Feb. 20 for the first-in-the-South primary. The latest S.C. polling from Winthrop University puts Rubio in fourth place with 11 percent support from likely GOP voters. Trump continues to hold a commanding lead at 24 percent followed by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Chief among the issues Rubio discussed Saturday was his plan to build a stronger military and bolster services for veterans, empower the private sector to create jobs and repeal many of President Barack Obama's policies.

"When I am president we will get rid of 'ObamaCare' for once and for all," he said.

And while Rubio did not mention Trump's name or any other of the GOP contenders, his reticence could be strategic. Seventeen percent of the state's likely Republican voters remain unsure who they will support in the state's primary, according to the Winthrop poll.

Dan Kam, who attended Saturday's event, said he is one of them.

"I've been going to see all the various candidates," he said as he waited in line to enter the event on Saturday.

National security and immigration, both issues Rubio addressed, were also of concern to the Sun City resident, especially national security.

"A lot of Americans are concerned about that right now," Kam said.

Saturday, Rubio cited his Cuban ancestry when discussing immigration, saying that he knew "every aspect of the issue." But he added that immigration was no longer about jobs alone. "It's a security issue," he said.

Others at Saturday's event are taking a "wait and see" approach.

While Paul Jameson and Donna Greco, of Hilton Head Island, are still leaning toward Trump, who they saw earlier in the week, the couple said they would consider Rubio and would "definitely" vote for the senator if he received the Republican nomination.

Jameson, in particular, said he would give the senator consideration. An online quiz he took earlier in the year surprised him when it showed he was aligned with Rubio politically.

"He wasn't even on the horizon," he said. "But as I have listened to him, I would feel very comfortable with him as our president."

Follow reporter Mindy Lucas on Twitter at twitter.com/MindyatIPBG.

Related content:

• Trump blasts Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush at Hilton Head rally, Dec. 29, 2015

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Rubio steers clear of Trump; speaks to Hilton Head crowd."