Thousands Of Ted Cruz Supporters Play A Game That Might Win Iowa

[BlueMTexpat]

Good read from FiveThirtyEight: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/thousands-of-ted-cruz-supporters-play-a-game-that-might-win-iowa/

Since this is primarily about the GOPer candidates, I did not post this in GD/Primaries. But there are also a few words about the Dem candidates' ground games.

With five weeks to go until the caucuses, the yeoman’s work of presidential politicking is now being undertaken in earnest. Most Iowans have yet to make up their minds about whom to support for president, so candidates and their state teams must now solidify their cases. But who has the best Iowa ground game?

Four metrics help get at that answer: field offices, paid staff, events held and time spent in the state (I made efforts to cross-check numbers with news reports and campaigns, though some declined to comment on their staffing and organization):
...
But the numbers only take you so far in campaigning. It’s not just how many staff members you have, it’s what they’re doing.

Cruz, the current leader of the Republican field in the state, has built substantial buzz around his Iowa operation. He’s locked down key religious conservative endorsements from Steve King and Bob Vander Plaats (Iowa Evangelicals are a powerful force in the GOP caucus), fostered a “99 pastors” strategy (one for each county), and spent considerable cowboy boots-on-ground time in the state: 91 events over 41 days.

One would hope that the more Iowans see of Cruz, the more they will dislike him. But so long as his campaign continues to give Trump fits, it's all to the good.

[comradebillyboy]

1. It looks like Cruz has the best run campaign of all the

Republicans and will likely have a big win in Iowa. I haven't seen much mention of Trump's ground game or campaign organization. He polls well but can he translate good poll to actual votes?

[BlueMTexpat]

2. It will be interesting to see.

The entire group is both nauseating and frightening.