1500 Supporters Rally Around Ted Cruz During Campaign Stop
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Senator Ted Cruz received a hero's welcome during the start of his campaign swing through his home state of Texas.
The Republican presidential candidate attracted 1500 supporters to the Fort Worth Stockyards Thursday morning. Most of them stood during his entire speech and repeatedly interrupted him with applause and cheers.
Texas is the big prize during the Super Tuesday primary on March 1, which is also being called the SEC primary. When asked if he believes he'll win most of the votes in the Lone Star State, Cruz said, "The political support we're seeing has been extraordinary here in the State of Texas. I feel we're in a strong position, but we're taking nothing for granted. We're going to continue the work to earn the votes."
During a gaggle with reporters, Cruz said his support has doubled nationally since he entered the race and that he has a very strong organization in place in each of the first three important caucus and primary states: Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. "Many of the campaigns have publicly written off one or more states. We are all-in in Iowa. We are all-in in New Hampshire, and we are all-in in South Carolina."
He's also confident about his support in the South, saying he and his campaign attracted 19,000 people during a recent bus tour after the first debate in Cleveland. Still, Cruz is in fourth place nationally, receiving 7 percent in the Real Clear Politics Average of polls.
He trails Donald Trump but he says he's not concerned about the billionaire's level of support. "I think the support he's gaining in the polls is because people are looking for someone willing to stand up to Washington. Now I believe, Donald Trump has done a lot of positive things for this race and frankly a lot of positive things our campaign."
That includes Trump's strong stance against illegal immigration and amnesty, an issue Cruz says he too has fought against for years.
Cruz says what separates him from the other candidates is that he says what he's going to do, then he does it. "Who actually has had a record of standing up to Washington? Standing up not just to Democrats, but to Republicans, members of his own party in the Washington cartel, and I think when people ask that question, I have a record of doing so the other candidates do not."
Carolyn Simpson says she has always been a strong supporter of Ted Cruz. "He's a courageous conservative, he's been fighting for us in the Senate since elected. He's done what he said he was going to do unlike so many of the politicians."
Cruz received applause after telling the crowd what he would do during his first day of office in January, 2017: Tear up the nuclear deal with Iran, open an investigation into Planned Parenthood, repeal Obamacare on his first day in office, rescind what he calls President Barack Obama's illegal executive orders, end the persecution of religious liberty, and move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Following Cruz's stop in Fort Worth, he held rallies in Tyler, and then onto Kingwood near Houston.
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