DES MOINES, Iowa—For months, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has flown under the radar in the Republican presidential race, an unusual position for a politician who has been in the spotlight since arriving in Washington nearly three years ago.
Now, Cruz is trying to ride a standout performance in last week’s GOP debate into new momentum for his campaign. He’s casting himself as the conservative the party’s right flank has been waiting for — someone who’s both uncompromising and electable.
“How about this time we nominate as Republicans a candidate as committed to conservative principles as Barack Obama is to liberal principles?” Cruz said Saturday during a Republican forum in Des Moines.
Cruz is running an operation with important advantages.
He ended the last fundraising period with more campaign cash on hand than any other candidate. He has a well-funded super political action committee that has been spending money to on television advertising. His fights with Republican leaders in Washington have made him a well-known figure among conservatives frustrated with the party establishment.
But even with those assets, Cruz has spent months mired in the middle of the large GOP field. While he positioned himself early to absorb Donald Trump’s supporters if the billionaire businessman stumbled, Trump is still a commanding presence in the primary.
Cruz also faces a new challenge with the rise of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who is drawing support from religious conservatives.
The debate provided Cruz with the kind of breakout moment that could jumpstart his White House bid. He slammed the CNBC debate moderators for asking questions in a way that he said “illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media” and challenged them to ask “about the substantive issues people care about.”
On Saturday, Cruz stepped up his critique of the debate moderators. He was cheered enthusiastically by the 2,000-person crowd when he called for future debates to be moderated by conservatives such as radio host Rush Limbaugh. Following his remarks, he was mobbed by voters seeking autographs and handshakes for nearly an hour.
