Posted on 11/20/2015 5:59:18 AM PST by VinL
The hearts of many evangelical voters, polls suggest, are with Ben Carson. But increasingly, their leaders’ heads are with Ted Cruz.
While the Texas senator trails the retired pediatric neurosurgeon by double digits in national surveys, prominent evangelical leaders and political operatives who work with the Christian conservative movement say it's the well-funded Cruz who has made the bigger organizational effort with politically active church goers.
He’s rounding up the very grass-roots leaders who wield influence with this crucial Republican voting bloc. And here in Iowa, where endorsements have often predicted caucus winners, that matters.
"Cruz has got a lot of people on the ground who can historically move numbers," said Bob Vander Plaats, a prominent and still unaligned conservative in Iowa who is hosting a major cattle-call for Republican presidential candidates on Friday night. Vander Plaats in previous cycles attached his endorsement to the candidate who ultimately won the Iowa caucuses, and this time, he is thought to be leaning toward Cruz.
Meanwhile, Carson, a newcomer to politics, is running an untraditional campaign in every sense — including in how he courts the religious faithful. Carson, who speaks particularly openly about his personal faith, approaches voters here with a heart-on-his sleeve style, but he hasn’t made engaging their political leaders a priority.
Tony Perkins, among the most influential evangelical leaders in the country, told CNN earlier this week of Carson: "He's not built relationships with conservative leaders. I don't know that he's actually looking for endorsements from conservative leaders. He may have a different approach to his campaign."
Perkins was on hand last week at a religious liberty rally in South Carolina organized by Cruz, who has now held two professionally produced events centered on the issue. The first, in Iowa in August, cast Cruz as the field's biggest defender of religious freedom. The senator, once a Supreme Court clerk, railed against the high court’s decisions on same-sex marriage and appeared onstage with people who have faced business problems over, for example, refusing to host a gay wedding. The second event allowed Cruz to make the same play for the religious and deeply conservative Upstate region of South Carolina.
And through both, Cruz has gained momentum within the evangelical community. [Article continues]
If Cruz is successful, he will have re-established the GOP base of limited gov't adherents founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and then, down goes the current statist, secular, open border GOP establishment.
If Cruz strategy is successful, he transforms the GOP... which is why many of us support him.
And not just evangelicals.
As Steven Crowder said yesterday, he didn’t believe Ted Cruz could beat Clinton but after interviewing him, he’s convinced he can.
As Trump’s running mate, Cruz would bring the Evangelical votes that Trump could probably not get on his own!
agreed on all points.
but especially on your judicious, “if Cruz is successful...”
And I emphasize that, not b/c I don’t think Cruz is capable, but b/c I fear that there aren’t 10,000,000 non-voting evangelicals out there.
Is there any way for us to know if that is the case, or not?
Trump is a joke. Cruz should never consider being his VP. Principles are too important to trash in favor of that hot mess
Take that Jennifer Rubio Rubin
Trump may be many things but a joke is not one of them
You don’t have to support him but you underestimate him at your peril (Politically speaking)
I doubt Cruz would consider it. Trump is a progressive and Cruz is a constitutional conservative.
It would be like putting Obama and Reagan on the same ticket.
‘Trump is a joke.’
On this you and Karl Rove agree.
I’ve said for weeks that Cruz will be the “stealth” candidate in Iowa and the “surprise” candidate on Feb. 1. Yes, the primary reason is his great organizational skills. But, also..... Carson has really faltered in articulating substance and solutions on issues; especially on Foreign Policy. Most Evangelicals are not stupid lemmings who automatically follow the “I’m a Christian vote for me” candidate; especially those who remember the tragedy that brought in 1976 when Evangelicals voted for Jimmah Cartah.
It would be like putting Obama and Reagan on the same ticket."
That's what I told a friend of mine yesterday. Cruz wouldn't attach himself to someone like Trump. It would be too damaging for him, and it would go against his core principles.
I was also disappointed to see Mia Love come out for Rubio. Not a total shocker since I guess she’s been listening to Glenn Beck 24/7.
Video – Senator Ted Cruz Demanding U.S. Take Syrian Refugees and Not Worry About Terrorist Embeds
GO TRUMP! Go home so a real conservative can govern in 2017!
Se. Cruz would literally destroy Hillary! in a Presidential debate......lib heads would explode as their voters rushed away from her.
Trump is no joke, and he and Cruz have pretty similar platforms—though Trump is better on immigration, terrorism and the economy.
If the theory that tens of millions of evangelicals sat out the last two elections has merit, the idea they’re coming out for Cruz will make things interesting.
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