Texas Volunteers Helping Cruz In South Carolina
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GREENVILLE, S.C. (CBSDFW.COM) - The Republican presidential candidates are pulling out all of the stops on Friday, just one day before the South Carolina primary election. And among them is Sen. Ted Cruz, whose campaign headquarters is packed with volunteers.
There are various rooms at the Cruz headquarters filled with telephones and tables. Volunteers have been busy calling voters with the goal of sealing the deal for the Texas senator. Plus, while there are only dozens of people inside, the campaign stated that it has 15,000 people from South Carolina alone volunteering their time to the effort.
There are an additional 600 people helping Cruz from 38 other states -- including 105 people from his home state of Texas.
Steve Smith of Flower Mound is one of those Texas volunteers. He took two days off from work to be in South Carolina. Smith and his wife own a staffing business. "I believe in Ted Cruz. I've watched what he's done. I've seen him stand up in some fierce opposition in Washington," Smith said early Friday. "People can do a lot of talking, but I really look at what they've done, and Ted has been there, and I feel he's been a voice for us."
When you look at the polls, it is easy to see why the Cruz campaign is banking on a strong ground game in South Carolina. He trails front-runner Donald Trump by 15 points in the Real Clear Politics average of GOP polls. Sen. Marco Rubio is coming in third place, but not by a large margin.
South Carolina could end up being like Iowa, however, where Cruz trailed in the polls, but ultimately won the state. There are many religious conservatives in South Carolina, and Cruz is hoping to keep their momentum going.
