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Ted Cruz's Rollout Breaks the Rules, Scores a Quick Million
US News & World Report's The Run 2016 ^ | March 25, 2015 | David Catanese

Posted on 03/25/2015 1:35:37 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Donations to Ted Cruz's campaign, during his presidential announcement.

Ted Cruz's entire decision of whether to jump-start his presidential candidacy at the end of a fundraising quarter hinged on the ability to raise $1 million in the first week.

The Texas senator ended up hitting that milestone in just over a day.

Fueled by a team of 10 data scientists who are tasked with conducting real-time analysis of prospective supporters, the reach of and return on Cruz's rollout has already exceeded the initial expectations of even the campaign's top advisers.

While initial media reports detailed Cruz raising $500,000 on the first day, the candidate actually reached the $1 million marker near 2:30 A.M. Tuesday, just past the first crucial 24 hours since the campaign's launch on Twitter midnight Monday.

An avalanche of small dollar donations goosed the top line, according to data provided exclusively to U.S. News by the Cruz campaign.

Two-thirds of Cruz's initial contributions were under $100. Checks of less than $250 amounted to 95 percent of Cruz's rush to his first million.

Texas, unsurprisingly, was his top donor state, followed by California, Florida and Virginia.

Donations to Ted Cruz's presidential campaign, by location. The darker the color, the higher the concentration of donors.

But it wasn't only about shaking the money tree.

Because they were to be first to turn the ignition key on a 2016 candidacy, Cruz's political brain trust also sought to expand the scope of its rollout, beyond the customary single day flurry of media coverage. His advisors mapped out a carefully planned succession of events designed to build on each other and churn over a week's span of time.

On Saturday, word began to float out to reporters about an "important speech" Cruz would deliver on Monday at Liberty University. By Saturday night, Cruz's hometown newspaper, The Houston Chronicle, had nailed down the scoop: Monday morning was go-time.

But first, the tweets.

At 8:05 PM Sunday night, Cruz placed word on Twitter that "around midnight there will be some news you won't want to miss." Four hours and four minutes later, just after midnight Monday, he tweeted, "I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!"

The tweet was viewed 1.1 million times and the ensuing Facebook post scored more than 800,000 views and reached 2.6 million.

Of course, not all the social media feedback was positive. On Yik Yak, the app for posting anonymous missives, there was plenty of griping and joking from Liberty students who were required to be there. Twitter and Facebook drew ample Cruz detractors as well, with many jabbing him for failing to own the rights to TedCruz.com and other websites bearing his name. Still, the overall optics of the announcement were favorable. He was also blessed with luck, of course. If the Germanwings plane had fallen out of the sky and into the French Alps a day sooner, it could've drained his coverage significantly.

"Nothing happened," a top Cruz strategist told U.S. News, almost exhaling in relief.

Following the Liberty University announcement, which dominated most of cable news Monday and showed Cruz basking before a youthful, exuberant audience, the candidate hopped on a plane not to Iowa or New Hampshire -- but New York. In addition to a fundraising event there, he did Sean Hannity's radio show as well as sat for the full-hour on his Fox News Channel primetime television program.

The next morning, even as Cruz was headed to NBC's Today Show for the first joint interview with his wife, Heidi, he still made the front pages of most of the major daily newspapers in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The outset of the Cruz endeavor is demonstrating how crucial analytics will be in building on his initial success. When Cruz sat for an interview with Fox's Megyn Kelly on Tuesday night, he pulled in 952 donors who contributed $70,486 as a result of the appearance, according to Cruz's data crunchers.

Visitors to TedCruz.org, during Ted Cruz's appearance on "The Kelly File."

The 10 staffers who hold PhDs in behavioral science or analytics monitored the profiles of those hitting the website during the Kelly interview and quickly redirected social media and Internet-based ad campaigns to maximize the output of their potential targets.

This graph shows how traffic to the Cruz website spiked during his Kelly appearance. He saw a similar, smaller bump -- yielding about $39,000 -- when he was on Glenn Beck's radio program in the morning, demonstrated in the graphic that follows.

Cruz's team believes their rollout sets a higher bar for the Republican aspirants who come after him -- namely, all of them.​​​​​​​​​. He skipped the exploratory step, went right for the full announcement at a unorthodox time (at the end of a month and quarter) in which he visited neither his home state or an early nominating state. (He embarks on an early state tour -- guaranteed to suck up more media, next week.)

"Imagine Mike Huckabee doing an exploratory committee now. How much oxygen does that get?," challenged the Cruz strategist. "How do you announce and fly around your home state? What's that worth?"

Ironically, Cruz's bold move was in part, inspired by Jeb Bush, who initially announced his consideration of a presidential campaign in mid-December a few weeks before Christmas, when voters were busy, distracted and assumed to be focused on anything but politics.

Cruz's team eyed Bush's bold move and thought they could break the conventional timetable mold too.

Donors making contributions to TedCruz.org, during Cruz's appearance on Glenn Beck's radio show.

There's an unwritten rule in presidential politics that says a campaign shouldn't launch at the end of March, right before the fresh fundraising quarter of April. The rule dictates a candidate would want a full three-month cycle to raise money before having to report it out to the punditry.

"The rules this cycle," says the Cruz strategist, "are meant to be broken."

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)


TOPICS: Texas; Campaign News; Parties
KEYWORDS: 2016election; cruz; donations; election2016; fundraising; tedcruz; texas
So he's hired people who know what they're doing? How refreshing after McCain and Romney.
1 posted on 03/25/2015 1:35:38 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

10 Phd’s? Hopefully they are from Texas schools and not NE Liberal schools.


2 posted on 03/25/2015 1:38:53 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Islam is the military wing of the Communist party.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

One of 172.
I feel honored!


3 posted on 03/25/2015 1:40:10 PM PDT by Zathras
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To: EQAndyBuzz

You mea like Harvard or Princeton? LOL


4 posted on 03/25/2015 1:41:22 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Knows what he’s doing AND conservative. What a combination.

Almost makes you want to sign up for Obamascare :)


5 posted on 03/25/2015 1:43:07 PM PDT by fwdude (The last time the GOP ran an "extremist," Reagan won 44 states.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

He’s going to get much more than that first million.


6 posted on 03/25/2015 1:45:59 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: EQAndyBuzz
Cruz looks like this to the dims....with the same results....

(rail gun pic)

7 posted on 03/25/2015 1:46:12 PM PDT by spokeshave (He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people,)
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To: trisham

[He’s going to get much more than that first million.]

Small givers will give in increments.


8 posted on 03/25/2015 1:49:02 PM PDT by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.)
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To: stars & stripes forever

He’s also very social media savvy as well which is a great low cost means or reaching voters.


9 posted on 03/25/2015 1:51:46 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Verrrrry satisfying!


10 posted on 03/25/2015 1:56:06 PM PDT by txhurl
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The CRUZ missile is already making liberal heads explode!!!!


11 posted on 03/25/2015 2:09:42 PM PDT by A message
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“You mea like Harvard or Princeton? LOL”

Not sure how politics infiltrated the STEM programs at those schools. Then again, all these NE PHD’s in the Climate programs are doing a phenomenal job with their accurate forecasts on the weather.


12 posted on 03/25/2015 2:09:50 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Islam is the military wing of the Communist party.)
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To: EQAndyBuzz

Pretty cool, I’m actually working through the mitx data analytics class now. Nice to see some real world usage.

it shows outstanding insight on Cruz’s part. A good executive hires a good team.


13 posted on 03/25/2015 2:42:24 PM PDT by glorgau
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To: Zathras

And you should. Mine was less than $100.00.
Thank you.


14 posted on 03/25/2015 2:49:27 PM PDT by libbylu
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To: Zathras

I’m right there with you. It’s an honor to help such a great conservative man like Ted become President.


15 posted on 03/25/2015 3:07:21 PM PDT by EvilCapitalist (It's better to die free than live as a slave)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The darker reds in the northeast and Florida is telling.

A Super Cruz Tsunami in the making.


16 posted on 03/25/2015 3:46:06 PM PDT by American Constitutionalist (The Keystone Pipe like Project : build it already Congress !)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

He should have had those domain names long ago.


17 posted on 03/25/2015 3:52:50 PM PDT by Excellence (Marine mom since April 11, 2014)
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To: stars & stripes forever

My husband and I agreed that on every payday he’ll get another donation. We’ve called it an investment in our future.


18 posted on 03/25/2015 4:12:53 PM PDT by lucky american (Progressives are attacking our rights and y'all will sit there and take it.)
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To: EQAndyBuzz; 2ndDivisionVet

I think you missed 2d’s point: Cruz went to Princeton and Harvard.


19 posted on 03/25/2015 4:35:53 PM PDT by EDINVA
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