Ted Cruz's favorite joke on the campaign trail
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has leapfrogged over Republican front-runner Donald Trump in Iowa polls less than two weeks ahead of the state caucuses. And, armed with a sense of humor, he's also setting his sights on winning over voters in the nation's second early-nominating contest: New Hampshire.
Cruz, according to CBS News' digital journalist Alan He, is taking his favorite joke from his Iowa bus tour over to the Granite State, where residents will be casting their ballots in a Republican primary less than a month away.
"You know a couple years back I was out in West Texas," Cruz said, setting up his anecdote at the first of the day's six campaign stops. "And I asked folks there -- what's the difference between regulators and locusts?"
Cruz paused for a beat before delivering the punch line: "Well, the thing is, you can't use pesticide on the regulators."
But a West Texas farmer in the audience had a better retort.
According to Cruz, the farmer shot back: "Wanna bet?"
The senator repeated the story five more times at every campaign stop Tuesday.
Follow CBS News on Snapchat, and listen to Cruz deliver the one-liner multiple times: