Bush's super PAC hits Christie in New Hampshire

The super PAC backing Jeb Bush's presidential campaign is expanding the scope of its attacks beyond Donald Trump, releasing ads Tuesday that target Gov. Christie and other Republican rivals.
    One ad, which the political action committee said was airing in New Hampshire, contrasts Bush's record as former governor of Florida with Christie's in New Jersey and John Kasich's in Ohio.
    Recent polls show Christie is close behind Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in New Hampshire, which holds the first GOP primary on Feb. 9. Trump leads all candidates there.
The 30-second ad, titled "Three Governors," praises Bush's record on job creation, his leadership "handling nine hurricanes," and plan to fight the so-called Islamic State.
    The narrator pointedly asks: "Which governor led the fight to stop Obamacare expansion in his state?" Bush gets the check mark, even though he left office in 2007, before President Obama was even elected.
    The question was a reference to the decisions made by Christie and Kasich to expand Medicaid in their states under the Affordable Care Act.
   Christie has said expanding Medicaid was "the smart thing to do for our fiscal and public health." His campaign declined to comment.
    Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal criticized Christie for that decision during a November debate, but the New Jersey governor ignored the attack. Jindal later dropped out of the race.
    Responding to the Bush ad, Kasich's campaign said Tuesday: "The latest ad from Jeb's team forgot to check the box for 'Which governor is living in the past because he has no new ideas for fixing anything?'"
    "You only attack those you fear and who's beating you, so this latest attack by Jeb on Gov. Kasich only reaffirms the governor's strength in New Hampshire. It's actually flattering," the Kasich campaign said.
    Also Tuesday, Bush's super PAC, Right to Rise USA, released an ad in Iowa attacking Rubio for missing votes and national security hearings in the Senate.
    The PAC has raised more than $100 million, far exceeding any other group.