The latest polls show GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz in a virtual dead heat less than 72 hours before Monday’s Iowa GOP caucuses begin.
But Cruz has one key advantage none of the other candidates, not even Trump, can claim: a large and dedicated group of volunteers from Iowa and around the country who have been tirelessly knocking on doors of likely caucus attendees for the past several weeks.
One such volunteer, Lorie Medina — a long-time Tea Party activist from Texas and a veteran of volunteer voter canvassing projects for contested elections in Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia — brought a contingent of half a dozen Texans from Dallas to Des Moines last week. The group has been knocking on doors eight hours a day in the cold Iowa winters working to encourage persuadable and committed Cruz voters to come support Cruz at their local caucus event Monday evening.
“After we finished canvassing tonight, we went back to the Cruz HQ. It was packed with volunteers even sitting on the floor making calls. Rafael Cruz was there, too!” Medina posted on the Cruz volunteers’ website on Facebook late Friday night.
“BTW, the word here in Iowa is that the other candidates don’t have any volunteers. Their campaign headquarters are empty. The Cruz volunteers are so committed,” Medina added.
Medina and her contingent of Texans were not alone in their volunteer efforts in support of Cruz.
As the image Medina posted on Facebook shows, dozens of volunteers continued to work into the late evening hours at Cruz headquarters in Des Moines Friday night.