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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz arrived Jan. 4 at the first stop on a six-day tour of Iowa. The Republican presidential candidate was set to visit 28 counties by bus. (Photo by Patrick Svitek) WASHINGTON — In the more than 200 events he's held since launching his campaign for the White House 10 months ago, Ted Cruz has tested out an unorthodox strategy, one that could rewrite the rules of Republican presidential politics.Since the Texas senator declared his candidacy in March, 40 percent of his public events have taken place in Iowa, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of his travel schedule as of Saturday. But...

Sen. Ted Cruz will swing through Alabama this weekend as he attempts to solidify support among Southern evangelical voters, a key demographic in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Polls show that Cruz is a popular candidate among voters identifying themselves as "very" conservative, including tea party activists who seem to have embraced his anti-government rhetoric. And if Cruz can solidify that voting base, insiders say he has a good chance – like Rick Santorum in 2012 and Mike Huckabee in 2008 – to win the Alabama GOP primary. "I do think the 'SEC Primary' is Cruz's best chance...

Ted Cruz could not have asked for a better political environment. A sizable portion of the Republican primary electorate is raging against the establishment, consistently showing support for outsiders and instigators. Party stars and career politicians have either dropped in the polls or dropped out altogether.But Cruz isn’t leading this movement right now. Instead, Donald Trump and Ben Carson are battling to be the face of the 2016 “outsider,” dominating the polls nationally and in the early states. ... Trump’s presence in the GOP contest has been beneficial, he said, “because it has helped frame the central issue in the...

Connie's Chicken serves food the way locals like it in Tupelo, Miss.: homemade and fried. Earlier this week, the biscuits and gravy came with a heaping serving of Ted Cruz, who drew nearly 600 people out in the parking lot as part of a seven-state Southern bus tour that wrapped up Thursday in Oklahoma. "Somebody said they were looking for a mom-and-pop operation," explained Mike Asters, whose parents opened Connie's in 1979 - at the dawning of the Reagan Revolution. "There aren't a lot of them left."Even rarer are presidential campaigns that devote significant time and resources at this stage...

“Cruz’s Southern Advantage”BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Today, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz concludes his #CruzCountry #CruzToVictory tour through the southern states that comprise the so-called “SEC Primary” where he has consistently drawn overflow crowds. Below is sampling of some of the coverage:VIDEO: Join the #CruzCountry Bus Tour! Highlights from the RoadPOLITICO: Cruz’s Southern Advantage At one event in a Nashville suburb Monday, Cruz attracted a crowd of more than 2,000 to an arts center, where he was mobbed after his speech by well-wishers hoping to shake his hand or have him sign copies of his book. The next day, Cruz’s two Mississippi...

Campaign Releases Video Montage of Excitement at #CruzCountry Bus Tour EventsMEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Cruz for President campaign has released a video halfway through his #CruzCountry bus tour highlighting the overwhelming crowds that are turning out to his events throughout the Southern states. No event has had fewer than 500 people, with the largest crowd nearing 2,000 mark. Combined, all the states he will visit represent 356 of the 1,236 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination.The Wave is Growing (video)As of Tuesday, August 11, Cruz has made multiple stops in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee — all...

Birmingham, Alabama (CNN) - Ted Cruz is hoping to gain attention by being precisely where his rivals aren't: the South. In barbeque joints and tea rooms, Cruz is courting the southerners who are likely to play an outsized role in next year's Republican primary. Eight southern states are slated to cast ballots on March 1, a day now monikered the "SEC Primary" after the top-performing college football conference that voters here cheer. So Cruz and a large group of aides are spending the congressional recess not in New Hampshire -- a more liberal state, for instance, that he has not...

In recent presidential primary cycles, the influence of Southern states -- with the exception of Florida, whose "Southern status" is perhaps more locational than anything else -- has been minimal. While pundits like to say that GOP presidential nominees have relied heavily on a "red state" electorate based in the South, that same base has had little to say in determining the nominee. After all, neither John McCain nor Mitt Romney had much in common with the region. Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp sensed that voter turnout intensity in the region could be stronger in November 2016 if...