--- title: Election 2016: Ted Cruz's Iowa Caucus Ground Game on Video description: The Texas senator planned to visit all 99 counties in the Hawkeye State canonical: https://time.com/4201536/ted-cruz-iowa-ground-game/ author: Francesca Trianni article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-31T18:19:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T11:59:32.618Z article:section: Politics og:title: This is how Ted Cruz plans to win in Iowa og:description: The Texas senator planned to visit all 99 counties in the Hawkeye State og:url: https://time.com/4201536/ted-cruz-iowa-ground-game/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce6ffd228d1315cc/69887b7df887dcd437e94655/cruziowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: CruzIowa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This is how Ted Cruz plans to win in Iowa twitter:description: The Texas senator planned to visit all 99 counties in the Hawkeye State twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce6ffd228d1315cc/69887b7df887dcd437e94655/cruziowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is How Ted Cruz Plans to Win in Iowa > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8e38a2dc-eef6-477a-b782-b97253e26829&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. 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.” ```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. 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