Posted on 04/15/2015 12:45:48 PM PDT by SoConPubbie
Ted Cruz has officially announced his candidacy for president and there’s lots of speculation on his chances of securing the GOP nomination for 2016.
Since the Iowa Freedom Summit, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has received the most attention by the media as being the stand-out candidate and many polls have him as the front-runner among likely GOP voters.
However, having been in Iowa for a year now I’ve been able to attend a lot of political events where Ted Cruz was one of many present, and I think Ted Cruz is the front-runner. Three events come to mind that show his influence on the voters here in Iowa.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, Friday, Sept. 26, 2014. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
The first event was The Family Leadership Summit last August. At an event that included favorites like Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, my eyes nearly popped out of my head and my jaw dropped open at the standing ovation for the senator from Texas. The applause wasn’t because of a great speech, it was when they introduced him!
The next event had a similar experience, the Iowa Freedom Summit. The same event that helped Scott Walker gain Fox News notoriety and had polls putting him as the front-runner opened my eyes once again to the realization that Ted Cruz is the real front-runner. With Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Chris Christie, and even Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz’s standing ovation was longer and louder, during his introduction, than any of the other standing ovations from the entire day, excluding his from after his speech.
The final event was a few weeks later at the Iowa Agriculture Summit. This was an event where Ted Cruz was not expected to be welcome. Prior to the event, Iowa Gov. Branstad warned potential presidential candidates that they would have a hard time winning if they don’t support ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard. Among those not supporting the standard is Ted Cruz, so what was his reception like?
Monstrous applause.
Ted Cruz’s reception at these public events has been enlightening. The reception he’s received a private receptions is as well. In his many visits to Iowa, Ted Cruz has taken time out to meet with a prominent libertarian leaning group. After a meeting with them, many in this group have told me that they are seriously considering voting for Ted Cruz. He has met with evangelical groups with the same results.
I lived in Texas for nine years and still have family and many friends who live there. I spent the holidays visiting family and, of course, politics came up. When Ted Cruz’s name was brought up, I was surprised to hear my Texas associations say that they didn’t want Ted Cruz for president. A short time after that, I had Ted Cruz on my radio show and I sent the podcast to many of the Ted Cruz skeptics.
I received numerous responses that all had a similar message: “That was not the same Ted Cruz portrayed on TV. I’m excited to learn more about him.”
In 2012, Mitt Romney virtually tied Rick Santorum in the Iowa Caucus – that was done with less than 25 percent of the vote. The 75 percent that didn’t vote for Mitt Romney split their vote among other candidates.
Based on the receptions I’ve seen him get here in Iowa, he’s succeeding because more voters are not watching how he’s being portrayed, they’re listening to his message.
Can’t wait to see this guy in the debates.
I’m for Ted
so much so I signed up as a regular auto contributor
Just like here , for FR
Some things are certainly worth the small sacrifice !
Classic dennis for sure.
As an aside, I happened to click on the link above to an article describing Ted's meeting with a prominent libertarian leaning group in Iowa last January (link in fifth paragraph from bottom in the excerpt at top). I haven't seen that article posted at Free Republic and it was an interesting read.
I was impressed how he challenged everyone attending the Iowa Liberty Movement meeting to ask hard questions in a no-holds-barred Q&A. Cruz was intent on them hearing exactly where he agreed and disagreed with them. Cruz is confident in what he believes and doesn't insult people's intelligence with pandering responses. He will welcome support from Liberty Movement people who may have become disillusioned with Rand Paul because of Paul's collaboration with GOPe leadership and Mitch McConnell (on debt ceiling fights and other issues).
Thank you! That link will be very useful to all who want to get the word out. I printed it off for easy reference.
Sure, front runner in Iowa, like Huckabee in 2008 and Santorum in 2012.
The conservative message IF believed and articulated correctly is appealing to all demographics. Cruz is the best at doing this.
There are so many, I hear 4 or 5 a day that would be great. ‘All you Zombies’ guitar riff would be powerful into. Each city has its bands who have a hit or two out there that would fire the crowd up.
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