USA TODAY GOP Power Rankings: Rubio reigns, Christie climbs

A good night on the debate stage has put Marco Rubio on top of our GOP Power Rankings for the first time, and it gave Chris Christie his first taste of the top tier.

"Rubio is clearly on the rise after a strong debate performance," said Kristen Soltis Anderson, one of the 30 political experts we survey each week for their view of who is the strongest Republican candidate. "Cruz and Christie also did themselves favors in the debates," she said, but it's "still unclear how much the polls move as a result."

Rubio jumped from third to first place in our survey, and Christie moved up from eighth place to fifth.

Marco Rubio speaks at the Iowa GOP's Growth and Opportunity Party at the Iowa state fairgrounds in Des Moines on Oct. 31, 2015. (Nati Harnik, AP)

"Rubio and Cruz are widely regarded to be the 'winners' of the Oct. 28 GOP presidential candidate debate and Kasich and Christie also scored some attention for their debate performances," said Iowa State University's Dianne Bystrom.

Republican digital consultant Phil Musser said "the beginning of the 'second look' for Christie stage kicked off in earnest this week on the back of a great debate and solid follow on early state endorsements and appearances. Watch his numbers start to move."

And Donald Trump is no longer the center of every political conversation. Trump got only eight first-place votes from our panelists, while Rubio got 16. The Florida senator had never had more than eight first-place votes in the prior nine weeks of our survey. Ben Carson remains near the top with four first-place votes, and Ted Cruz received two.

"The Twitter conversation about these candidates diversified in the CNBC debate, with less of a solo spotlight on Mr. Trump," said Twitter's Adam Sharp. "In past debates, we've seen him clearly lead in mentions on Twitter, followed by a clear 'anti-Trump' candidate and a significant drop-off to the rest of the pack. On Wednesday, Trump was mentioned in 22% of the debate-related Tweets — a drop from 37% in the previous debate. Cruz, Carson, Rubio and Bush were all in a tight grouping next, with Cruz the biggest mover, making for the most evenly-distributed Twitter conversation of the debates so far."

Meanwhile, Jeb Bush continues to fade. "Bush may technically have time and money, but he needs to do something now to prove to his donors and supporters that he is still a top contender in this race," said non-partisan political analyst Nathan Gonzales.

Bush's "last name and correlated war chest keep him in the top-tier, especially since no other mid-pack candidate, like Kasich, Fiorina, or Paul, can consistently attract positive attention," said Democratic pollster Margie Omero.

WEEK 10 RANKINGS

1. MARCO RUBIO (LAST WEEK: 3)

2. DONALD TRUMP (2)

3. BEN CARSON (1)

4. TED CRUZ (4)

5. CHRIS CHRISTIE (8)

6. JEB BUSH (5)

7. CARLY FIORINA (6)

8. JOHN KASICH (7)

9. MIKE HUCKABEE (10)

10. RAND PAUL (9)

11. LINDSEY GRAHAM (13)

12. BOBBY JINDAL (11)

13. RICK SANTORUM (12)

14. GEORGE PATAKI (14)

15. JIM GILMORE (15)

WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5
WEEK 6 | WEEK 7 | WEEK 8 | WEEK 9

PARTICIPANTS IN USA TODAY'S GOP POWER RANKINGS:

Kristen Soltis Anderson, Republican pollster and author of The Selfie Vote
Henry Barbour, Republican strategist, Mississippi
Paul Brathwaite, principal, Podesta Group
Dianne Bystrom, director, Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Herman Cain, talk show host and former GOP presidential candidate
Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and CNN Commentator, The Dewey Square Group
Frank Donatelli, former RNC deputy chairman and Reagan advisor
Sara Fagen, partner, DDC Advocacy
Peter Fenn, Democratic political strategist, Fenn Communications
Denise Feriozzi, deputy executive director, EMILY's List
Karen Floyd, CEO, The Palladian Group and former South Carolina GOP chair
Aaron Ghitelman, communications manager, HeadCount
Andra Gillespie, polling analyst and political science professor, Emory University
Nathan L. Gonzales, editor, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report
Lilly J. Goren, political science and global studies professor, Carroll University
Doug Gross, Iowa attorney and previous Republican gubernatorial nominee
O. Kay Henderson, news director, Radio Iowa
Ken Khachigian, senior partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Carl Leubsdorf, Washington columnist, The Dallas Morning News
Deb Lucia, Topeka 912 – the Capital City Tea Party
Matt Mackowiak, Republican consultant and president, Potomac Strategy Group, LLC
Dan Maffei, former Democratic congressman, New York
Phil Musser, chairman, IMGE digital media agency
Margie Omero, Democratic pollster, Purple Insights
Jon Ralston, host, "Ralston Live" on PBS affiliates in Nevada
Craig Robinson, founder and editor, TheIowaRepublican.com
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D., Sr. VP of digital strategy, turner4D
Dante Scala, political science professor, University of New Hampshire
Adam Sharp, head of news, government and elections, Twitter
Alex Smith, national chairman, College Republicans
Todd Spangler, Washington correspondent, Detroit Free Press
Kathy Sullivan, DNC committeewoman and former Democratic Party chair, New Hampshire

Special thanks to the Palladian Group for building our survey platform.