Marco Rubio isn’t expecting to win the Iowa caucuses Monday night – the first test in the 2016 presidential election – but the state is crucial to his strategy of building momentum in what he is convinced will be a drawn-out battle for the Republican nomination.
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Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas placed second, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich a surprise third.
Heidi Cruz asked the Iowans in attendance, who will caucus Monday in the first contest of the presidential race, to please ‘fall in love with Ted Cruz just like I did’. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was overwhelmingly the third choice, at 15 percent. The former first lady, U.S. Senator from NY, and Secretary of State didn’t win Iowa eight years ago when she ran for president. With the strength of the outsider candidates in the Republican field and the collapse of Jeb Bush, Rubio has been able to consolidate more support from those looking for a non-Donald-Trump candidate. “I believe he has to come in third in several of them….”
“This is your time”, Cruz told a crowd of about 1,000 at a hotel ballroom. Both men had ample time to speak and differentiate themselves from the others onstage. “We are inches away”.
Cruz’s supporters are skeptical that Trump can produce a wave of new voters. The campaign has also rolled out a steady stream of religious-minded endorsements, including a religious liberty advisory board earlier this month, a dignity of life and SC religious liberty advisory board last week, and on Saturday, an endorsement list from Iowa pastors. “I will get rid of your depression, you’ll be happy”. “If you’re sick, you’ve got to get out”.
The Vermont senator and Democratic socialist said “the eyes of America, in fact much of the world” would be on Iowa, and the state could be a model for the nation and the future of American democracy. “Who do I know is going to defend the Constitution, is going to repeal Obamacare, is going to stop amnesty, is going to kill the terrorists and keep this country safe?”
With that, he tried to set expectations so that if Rubio finishes better than third, it can be proclaimed a great performance and if Cruz doesn’t win, it will be seen as a great failure. That’s not the most important criterion for being president, but it’s an important one for running for the job. Trump said. “Ted has a big problem”.
Pate said Cruz’s campaign “misrepresents Iowa election law”.
A strong showing will propel him into New Hampshire and SC while a weaker one could hobble his chances, underscoring his risky gamble of not focusing on one early nominating state. “We’ll focus on the arrogance”, said Craig Lang, a Brooklyn dairy farmer who backs Sen. He will appear in Iowa City, Davenport and Des Moines on Sunday, and Jefferson and Marion on Monday before celebrating with supporters at the Ewell Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds caucus night.
Sanders, speaking at a college in Waverly, stuck to his familiar theme of reducing economic inequality and cited his fund-raising operation.
The campaign sent out a fundraising email on Saturday that highlighted the ads.
According to a Monmouth University survey released this week, not even half of all likely caucus-goers have finally settled on their candidate, leaving plenty of room for voters to swing behind an upstart.
Throughout the 2016 presidential race, Rubio’s camp has sought to maintain an under-the-radar push, timing its move into front-runner status with the final leg of the campaign. Those voters seem to have largely cohered around the fiery Cruz, whose stump speech carries a distinct anti-establishment tone.
But Bush, who had his strongest debate on Thursday, has gained in New Hampshire, complicating Rubio’s strategy.
Cruz directed much of his final advertising against Marco Rubio as the senators’ feud intensifies at the Iowa finish line. Two particularly damaging moments were his trapped look when confronted with videos of his past statements seeming to support legalization of undocumented immigrants, and a shot of Terry Branstad chortling as Cruz struggled to explain his position on ethanol.
The Clinton and Sanders campaigns reached agreement to hold a debate in New Hampshire this coming week and three more in the spring, supplementing a light debate schedule that has favored weekend slots when fewer people watch TV. “This campaign is about ensuring that we can turn this country around”.
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“We need your help”. Paul said Cruz had been on both sides of the amnesty question at one time or another, and: “He can’t have it both ways…it’s a falsehood”, he said, as cheers and objections were heard. “If you will go to the caucus for me on Monday, if you stand up for me Monday, I promise you I will stand up, and fight for you as hard as I can for the next four years”.
