Cruz Campaign Press Release - Ted on the Trail: Ted Cruz Surges in Iowa

HOUSTON, Texas — Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz visited 16 counties throughout Iowa this past weekend where crowds of courageous conservatives who want a president that fights for the issues that matter most to them turned out to meet and greet Ted. Below is a sampling of some of the press coverage of the events:

.@Tedcruz organizers say crowd count is about 90 in Coralville, solid for Johnson county, which is primarily liberal pic.twitter.com/DhIxtKeI80

— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) November 30, 2015

New York Times: Ted Cruz Surges in Iowa, Powered by Outsider Fervor

Campaign officials, assessing their momentum, have pointed to a strong field operation, diligent legwork with crucial groups like evangelicals and the support of local figures like Representative Steve King. They also concede their good fortune that the race has, to date, unfurled more or less as Mr. Cruz had hoped, with establishment Republicans failing to coalesce around a single candidate and other religious conservatives in the race failing to gain traction.

"What Washington wants is conservatives divided," Mr. Cruz said at a Pizza Ranch in Newton on Sunday. "That's how the moderate establishment candidate runs up the middle with 23 percent of the vote, steals the nomination and then loses the general because millions of conservatives stay home."

Yet as Mr. Cruz, the junior senator from Texas, crisscrosses Iowa, railing against the Obama years and establishment figures in his own party, his rise is particularly notable for the rhetorical feat that has helped fuel it.

In an election season that has rewarded political outsiders like Mr. Trump and Ben Carson, placed Senator Marco Rubio of Florida on the defensive over his congressional record and tormented the current and former governors in the field, Mr. Cruz has proved the exception: He seems to have persuaded an electorate deeply skeptical of its government that his time in Washington has been an asset.

"When I see how he's fighting right now in Congress for us, I trust him in the presidency," said Melinda Shervheim, 49, of Redding. She cited Mr. Cruz's push to repeal President Obama's health care law and his hard-line positions against immigration.

Packed house for @tedcruz at Pizza Ranch in Newton. He's lost the suit and tie. #iacaucus pic.twitter.com/c6c95FKDu0

— Clay Masters (@Clay_Masters) November 29, 2015

Ted Cruz in packed convenience store at 10:30 PM in rural Iowa pic.twitter.com/WdNdqwuWtW

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) November 29, 2015

Newton Daily News: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz stumps in Newton

An overflowing crowd of more than 100 people packed the Pizza Ranch in Newton on Sunday to see Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz at a meet and greet. People were packed into the meeting room and dozens more standing at the doorways to hear the candidate speak.

The event started with U.S. Rep. Louis Gohmert prepping the crowd and talking about his friendship with both Cruz and U.S. Rep. Steve King.

"Steve and I both struggled in 2012 to find someone to endorse. We haven't had to struggle so much this time," Gohmert said.

.@tedcruz's crowd at a gas station in Van Horne, Iowa (pop. 671), is pushing 90-100. #iacaucus pic.twitter.com/nkFA0cnzuc

— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 29, 2015

USA Today: In Iowa, Ted Cruz pushes for 99 counties

Crammed into a Casey's General Store in Chariton, Iowa, on Saturday, Ted Cruz made his pitch for Iowans to join his "grass-roots army."

"The folks that are gathered here tonight, y'all scare the living daylights out of Washington. Liberty is never safer than when politicians are terrified," the Texas senator said.

As the days tick closer to Iowa's Feb. 1 caucuses, Cruz's campaign is pushing to get him in front of as many Iowans in as many counties as they can — even if it means an event at 10 p.m. at a gas station in a town with a population just above 4,000. The effort is in part due to a pledge the presidential candidate made in June: to visit all of Iowa's 99 counties, a feat dubbed the "full Grassley" in reference to Sen. Chuck Grassley's full tour of the state's counties each year.

"We're going to push hard every day that he's here and use every moment as effectively as possible," said Bryan English, the campaign's state director. "In some cases that's going to be speaking to crowds of hundreds and other times it's going to be having a slice of Casey's pizza with a handful of folks that are willing to come out a little later in the evening."

.@tedcruz campaigning at Pizza Ranch in Newton, one of the largest crowds at a Pizza Ranch this cycle. #IACaucus pic.twitter.com/7wXLMfW0GQ

— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) November 29, 2015

Des Moines Register: In Iowa, Cruz Talks About Fighting for Voters

Speaking to a small crowd here, Cruz specifically mentioned his fight against the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law also known as Obamacare.

"It's striking how many of the Republican presidential candidates, you go back and watch their opening speech, don't even mention the word Obamacare," Cruz said. "I promise you if you're not willing to campaign on repealing Obamacare, you ain't going to do it when you get to the White House."

The White House hopeful was in the middle of an eight-stop swing through Iowa on Saturday, one he plans to continue with stops Sunday and Monday.

Laying out his plan should he make it to the Oval Office — notably repealing Obamacare and establishing a flat tax — one audience member asked Cruz how he would get Congress on his side.

Cruz's answer: a mandate from voters.