Rubio vows more aggressive approach in extended campaign

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Facing the biggest test of his presidential bid, Marco Rubio promised a more aggressive approach in what his team expects to become an extended Republican nomination fight that could result in a brokered national convention.

[...] as he shifts his attention to South Carolina's Feb. 20 contest, the 44-year-old freshman senator wants voters to know he's learned an important lesson from his experience in New Hampshire.

Instead of trying to avoid attacking his GOP rivals on the debate stage, Rubio said he's now prepared to fight back when necessary — particularly with his party's front-runner Donald Trump.

There hasn't been a contested national convention since 1976, yet Republican National Committee officials have already had preliminary discussions about the possibility of no candidate securing a majority of delegates in the state-by-state primary contests.