Posted on 04/05/2015 10:43:51 AM PDT by VinL
As aides politely tried to rush Ted Cruz from an event in Cedar Falls to one in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, the presidential candidate continued shaking hands with anyone who wanted to meet him.
Finally, after the selfies and conversations started to die down, his aides managed to move him closer to the door when a tall, burly man stopped him.
"Senator," he said, "can I pray with you real quick?"
"Yeah," Cruz said, as he clasped the man's upper arm and the two bowed their heads.
It was one of the many moments when Cruz connected with voters on a religious level last week, as the senator from Texas hit the trail in Iowa for the first time as a presidential candidate.
Being the only official contender in the race, Cruz drew large crowds during his two-day swing across the state. He's counting on Iowa, known for its vocal and active evangelical base, to propel him forward in what's expected to be a tough competition among a crowded field of GOP candidates.
Cruz, himself, displays a pastoral swagger when he is speaking on stage and working a room. The senator regularly avoids using a podium, instead favoring pacing the stage with a wireless microphone, a scene reminiscent of a Sunday morning sermon. When he meets with people after events, he embraces each one's hand with both of his, softens his usually theatric tone and looks people square in the eye -- a familiar interaction between churchgoing Christians and their pastors.
The past two winners of Iowa's caucuses rose to victory with support from the Christian right, and Cruz, who announced his bid last month at the well-known Baptist school Liberty University, is aiming to energize that same base and claim the coveted state as his prize.
Evangelicals (continues)
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Fixed it.
[Being the only official contender in the race, Cruz drew large crowds during his two-day swing across the state.]
Mark my words, those crowds are only going to get LARGER and LARGER and LARGER.
CRUZ 2016
http://www.tedcruz.org/
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