The sudden evaporation of yet another data point in his favor explains the tension in and around Bush’s campaign this week on the eve of the third quarter FEC fundraising deadline.

His top bundlers, summoned to Miami for a last-minute call-a-thon, are working hard to convince increasingly anxious donors of their candidate’s strength. Bush’s team is highlighting the benefits of its sizable financial advantage — mainly, a top-notch national organization — in an effort to focus attention on the campaign’s durability but also to demonstrate its superiority in relation to Marco Rubio, whose rise in recent polls represents a growing threat.

Miami’s message essentially boils down to this: Keep calm and remember we’re sitting on $100 million and an extensive organization.

“Our campaign has the scale to go through all the early states and into March and have the organization to get us on the ballot, to go get delegates and acquire delegates throughout the process,” said David Kochel, who oversees the campaign’s early state strategy.