Cruz pays visit to St. Paul as part of multi-state swing
Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz held a campaign rally in St. Paul Thursday night and declared that "help is on the way" for what he called a country in crisis.
The U.S. senator from Texas is on a weeklong tour of states that hold caucuses or primaries on Super Tuesday, March 1. With his poll numbers rising, Cruz laid out a very specific list of tasks he wants to take on as president.
He said he'll rescind many of the executive orders of President Obama, launch an investigation of Planned Parenthood and rip up the Iran nuclear deal.
"I am here to tell you, I'm here with a word of hope and encouragement and exhortation," Cruz said. "I want to tell you all across Minnesota, all across this country, people are waking up. There is a revival, and I'll tell you today that help is on the way."
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Cruz said he also wants abolish the IRS and to root out what he sees as persecution of religious liberty within government.
"That means that every serviceman and woman has the right to seek out and worship God almighty with all of our hearts, minds and souls, and their superior officer has nothing to say about it."
Cruz has been taking heat from Democrats for saying that his plan for fighting terrorism would include carpet-bombing ISIS. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton referenced the comment earlier in the week during a speech in Minneapolis. She didn't name Cruz, but she said the statement sounded like someone who was in over their head.
But Cruz isn't backing away from his plan. He said he'll be a commander-in-chief who is willing to defeat radical Islamic terrorism.
"Mark my words. We aren't going to weaken, we are not going to degrade ISIS. We are going to utterly destroy ISIS," he said.
Before the rally, Cruz told reporters that he thinks Minnesota will play a critical role in the GOP nominating process, beginning with the March 1 caucuses. He said he's encouraged by what he's seeing.
"We're seeing that old Reagan coalition come back together. We're seeing conservatives and libertarians and evangelicals. We're seeing young people and Hispanics and African-Americans and Jewish voters and women and Reagan Democrats all coming together," he said.
The big crowd was the latest sign that Cruz is making headway in Minnesota. Earlier this month, he came out on top in a presidential straw poll conducted by the state GOP central committee.
Darla Melby of Farmington was among the Cruz supporters who showed up.
"I've been watching him for a few years," she said. "I've really, really liked the things that he has to say. I'm glad that he's stepped up and become more in the forefront, and I hope he keeps his momentum going."
Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin criticized Cruz ahead of the rally, accusing Cruz and other GOP candidates of "fearmongering" on the campaign trail.
"Ted Cruz is probably surging right now in the Republican party. People are looking for an alternative to Donald Trump," he said. "But the reality is there's really not an alternative to Donald Trump, because all these candidates mirror his rhetoric and language. At the end of the day, they haven't offered up any prescriptive solutions, other than a return to the past."
Cruz has seen his national poll numbers rising in recent weeks, but he still trails Trump. In Iowa, polls show Cruz and Trump in a tight race with that state's caucuses just over six weeks away.