--- ---  # This Is How Ted Cruz Plans to Win in Iowa by [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/) Jan 31, 2016 6:19 PM UTC  HUBBARD, IA - JANUARY 30: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) (C) greets audience members after speaking at a campaign event at South Hardin Middle School on January 30, 2016 in Hubbard, Iowa. The Democratic and Republican Iowa Caucuses, the first step in nominating a presidential candidate from each party, will take place on February 1\. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) \*\*\* Local Caption \*\*\* Ted Cruz HUBBARD, IA - JANUARY 30: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) (C) greets audience members after speaking at a campaign event at South Hardin Middle School on January 30, 2016 in Hubbard, Iowa. The Democratic and Republican Iowa Caucuses, the first step in nominating a presidential candidate from each party, will take place on February 1\. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) \*\*\* Local Caption \*\*\* Ted CruzBrendan Hoffman—2016 Getty Images by [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/) and [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/) Jan 31, 2016 6:19 PM UTC It’s little more than 24 hours before the pivotal Iowa caucuses begin, and the presidential campaigns are still going strong. Especially for Ted Cruz, who TIME reporter Alex Altman says digs deep to his religious roots to connect with his conservative voters on the trail. “Ted, the voice of sanity, in this time of calamity!” a voter exclaims at a campaign stop in a public library in northwest Iowa. Cruz has been touring several towns in Iowa, and is one of the few candidates who planned to stop in all of the state’s 99 counties. “This is part of Cruz’s strategy to win it the old fashioned way,” Altman said, “which is to go hand-to-hand in small towns, visit people, and tell them why he wants their vote.” Election 2016: Ted Cruz's Iowa Caucus Ground Game on Video ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4201536/ted-cruz-iowa-ground-game/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4201536/ted-cruz-iowa-ground-game/"},"headline":"This Is How Ted Cruz Plans to Win in Iowa","datePublished":"2016-01-31T18:19:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:59:32.618Z","description":"The candidate has said his ground game is \"unprecedented\"","url":"https://time.com/4201536/ted-cruz-iowa-ground-game/","keywords":["ted cruz","Iowa","2016 presidential campaign"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce6ffd228d1315cc/69887b7df887dcd437e94655/cruziowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Francesca Trianni","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Altman","jobTitle":"Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/alex-altman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce6ffd228d1315cc/69887b7df887dcd437e94655/cruziowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CruzIowa","caption":"HUBBARD, IA - JANUARY 30: Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) (C) greets audience members after speaking at a campaign event at South Hardin Middle School on January 30, 2016 in Hubbard, Iowa. The Democratic and Republican Iowa Caucuse","creditText":"Brendan Hoffman—2016 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ted-cruz/","name":"ted cruz"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4201536/ted-cruz-iowa-ground-game/","name":"This Is How Ted Cruz Plans to Win in Iowa"}}]}] ```