Trump Fires Opening Salvo At Rising Rival Cruz

DES MOINES | Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday he believes a victory in the February 1 Iowa precinct caucuses would put him on a path to secure the GOP 2016 presidential nomination in Cleveland next summer.

A notable evangelical leader in Iowa has endorsed Sen.

Vander Plaats backed Mike Huckabee in 20008 and the past two winners of the Iowa caucus: Rick Santorum in 2012. His rise comes on the heels of major endorsements from Iowa conservative heavyweights, including U.S. Rep. Steve King and Bob Vanderplaats, the president and CEO of the Family Leader organization. Others did court Vander Plaats, including Marco Rubio.

We couldn’t be prouder to support Sen.

Bryan English, Cruz’s Iowa state director, cautioned “this is just one poll”, but said the results are a testament to the resources the campaign has invested in Iowa as well as Cruz’s message. “The people looking for the outsider will find him appealing and they will find him [Cruz] similar to Trump without some of Trump’s [problems]”. A man that we can fully trust, who has a consistency of convictions, who loves his god, loves his spouse, and who loves his family. Not always popular, but very competent. “He has not been embraced by the Washington establishment community, on either side of the aisle”.

Cruz explained to the crowd of 70 or so that he believes “gravity will bring both of those campaigns down” and ‘the lion’s share of their supporters come to us’.

“We live in extraordinary times and it demands extraordinary leadership”.

Label Cruz unlikable. It’s no secret many of Cruz’s Senate colleagues are not fond of his grandstanding.

Trump’s bravado still appears to be playing well with Iowa voters: A CNN poll of the state released Monday found him besting Cruz by a 33 percent to 20 percent margin. In a recent visit, the campaign held 14 stops over three days.

Cruz’s campaign sees a massive benefit to having Trump in the race. This week, Ted Cruz received two significant endorsements from social conservatives, both spotlighting his commitment to anti-LGBT discrimination.

Trump’s comments about Cruz’s religion were somewhat similar to what he said about presidential rival Ben Carson’s own Seventh-day Adventist faith earlier this year, when Carson was challenging Trump in Iowa polls.

One Republican involved in Iowa politics implied the clues were there last month, at a donor reception before the Family Leader’s Presidential Family Forum. No other candidate had double-digit support.

Beth, another voter, says Trump addresses the fears that she and many other citizens have about terrorism and illegal immigration.

Chapman said that unlike Trump, Cruz “isn’t someone who is quick to pull the trigger”, but he will stand firm. “They don’t know who is going to turn out”, said Chuck Laudner, Trump’s Iowa state director, to NBC News Friday night, prior to the poll’s release.

It is Vander Plaats’ hope that his decision will encourage conservatives to coalesce.

While Republican voters were most likely to say they were excited (24 percent) or optimistic (41 percent), a full one-third of Republicans say they are concerned or scared about Mr. Trump.