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Last weekend, the 鈥淩obot Rubio鈥� label slid right off Sen. Marco Rubio as he finished second in the South Carolina primaries.

Now, Ohio Gov. John Kasich will be hoping that the early criticism surrounding his comment that women 鈥渓eft their kitchens鈥� to vote for him in 1978 similarly slips from voters鈥� minds.

So far, political gaffes don鈥檛 look to be as dangerous to candidates this campaign cycle as they鈥檙e made out to be.

Senator Rubio鈥檚 robotic performance in the New Hampshire presidential debate seemed to hurt him in the Granite State, but he鈥檚 polling heading into Tuesday鈥檚 caucuses in Nevada. Meanwhile, it seems that Donald Trump can say pretty much whatever he wants.

On Monday, Governor Kasich told a crowd that his first election victory, for the state Senate, came when he 鈥済ot an army of people 鈥� and many women who left their kitchens to go out and go door to door and put yard signs up for me all the way back when things were different."

The statement is true. Many of Kasich鈥檚 supporters in 1978 were stay-at-home moms, his campaign notes, and the share of women in the workforce full time was less than half of what it is now. But summarized the social media reaction to the statement as 鈥渇oot, meet mouth.鈥澛�

No question, gaffes can kill. In 2012, GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin was pummeled after his comment about the female body鈥檚 ways of preventing pregnancy after 鈥渓egitimate rape.鈥� Six years earlier, Republican George Allen lost his Senate reelection bid after referring to his opponent鈥檚 nonwhite staff member as a 鈥淢acaca.鈥�

But Kasich鈥檚 comment might fit a different scenario: The overheated media trying to turn every Twitter fight into a major faux pas. Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College, writes that the power of the gaffe to make or break a campaign is overrated.

鈥淛ournalists routinely promote the importance of these sorts of pseudo-controversies, even though there is little convincing evidence that gaffes affect presidential election outcomes,鈥� in the Columbia Journalism Review in 2012. Far more important are the winning candidates鈥� 鈥渦nderlying advantages in the campaign fundamentals.鈥�

Gaffes can, however, hurt candidates more in primaries where people鈥檚 preferences over candidates are more fluid due to the lack of party labels, he writes in an e-mail.

One way to consider the impact of the gaffe is how it fits with a candidate鈥檚 brand, says GOP consultant Matt Mackowiak.

鈥淭he question is, does a gaffe or a controversy really cut against your brand? If what you do fits within your brand, it probably doesn鈥檛 do that much damage,鈥� he says.

Take Mr. Trump.

His persona is authenticity, strong leadership 鈥� and the opposite of political correctness. As Washington Post writer put it on Monday, Trump鈥檚 鈥渨illingness to say anything, no matter the underlying facts, seems to affirm to his supporters just how 鈥榠ndependent鈥� of the political system he really is.鈥�

Rubio鈥檚 gaffe didn鈥檛 stick precisely because it did not match his brand, Mr. Mackowiak explains. The senator is known as a strong debater. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 interesting about Rubio is that he鈥檚 been really good in every part of every debate except that one moment鈥� in the New Hampshire debate. He noted that Rubio bounced back with a strong performance in the next debate.

Conversely, were Jeb Bush to have delivered the bravado that Trump is known for, it wouldn鈥檛 have worked, says Mackowiak.

鈥淭he worst thing you can do in a campaign is try to be something that you鈥檙e not.鈥�

In its 鈥�,鈥� The Atlantic recently cited Hillary Clinton鈥檚 answers to a Feb. 3 debate question about whether she should have taken $675,000 in speaking fees from Goldman Sachs. 鈥淲ell, I don鈥檛 know, that鈥檚 what they offered,鈥� she replied, adding that 鈥渆very secretary of State that I know has done that.鈥�

The problem here is that the gaffe underscores a negative about the Clinton brand 鈥� that she is too cozy with Wall Street. 鈥淣ot only has she failed to put these questions to rest, answers like her one Wednesday night are so tin-eared as to amplify the problem,鈥� The Atlantic鈥檚 David Graham wrote.

For Kasich, his clear defense was that he was simply conveying the truth of what happened. 鈥淛ohn Kasich鈥檚 campaigns have always been homegrown affairs,鈥� a spokesman told NBC News. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e literally been run out of his friends鈥� kitchens and many of his early campaign teams were made up of stay-at-home moms.鈥� That鈥檚 real grass-roots campaigning and he鈥檚 proud of that authentic support. To try and twist his comments into anything else is just desperate politics.鈥�

But at a time when social media can create a momentum all its own, the comments are being viewed by some as condescending. 鈥淲hen I heard John Kasich鈥檚 latest offensive views on women and our rights, I almost dropped the casserole I was taking out of the oven,鈥� said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue in a statement.

Taking stock of the social media reaction, the Post鈥檚 Ms. Viebeck suggests the comment could sound 鈥渢one deaf and belittling to contemporary ears.鈥�

At a time when Republicans are trying to make inroads with women voters, 鈥渟uch comments could be counterproductive,鈥� of US News & World Report.