“I think if he comes out [to Iowa], he’s very articulate, he talks about his conservative values, what brought him here, he can come back, there’s no question,” Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) said about Rubio’s chances in his early-voting primary state.

“I don’t think it helped him at all. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. He’s a cool guy, he can recover. But he learned a big lesson,” said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a former leader of the campaign operation for House Republicans.

“The first cut’s the deepest. He has probably learned a good number of things,” Sessions said.

Rubio’s fellow Republican senators offered a rosier appraisal.

“He’s just a delightful person and he’s talented. If it was a negative I think he can recover from it,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a leading opponent of the Senate immigration bill.