Less than one year into his U.S. Senate tenure, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has done his share of appearances on a national platform.
Among the items on the docket is an Oct. 25 speech at the Iowa Republican Party's Reagan Dinner. With less than six weeks between now and the event, the Iowa Republican caught an ad showcasing 25 percent savings for folks interested in seeing Cruz.
Standing as a conservative news source for the Hawkeye State, the Iowa Republican's piece questioned whether the discount was a case of "lessened" demand for Cruz. More than three years away from the 2016 presidential election, the Tea Party favorite has made multiple trips to the state this summer, including an encounter with protesters at GOP headquarters in Des Moines.
The RUN reports that the Iowa Republican Party said otherwise regarding Cruz fatigue, contending that the ticket discount is part of a marketing strategy to explore different demographics and save donors money.
”You would think a ‘Republican’ blog would cheer when the state GOP is putting systems in place that saves its donors money by allowing more funds to go towards programs and electing Republicans, as opposed to overhead and expenses," Iowa GOP Executive Director Steve Bierfeldt told The RUN.
The Cruz ticket discount comes days after billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adelson admitted Cruz was not the first name to come to mind as a 2016 Republican presidential contender. In an interview with National Journal published Thursday, Adelson listed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) as possibilities, but not Cruz.
"I didn't even know Ted Cruz was potentially a candidate until somebody pointed it out to me the other day," Adelson said.
During the Iowa trips, Cruz has dismissed 2016 speculation, telling ABC News in July that his presence does not necessarily mean he is planning to run.
"We are having a national debate about which direction the country should go, and what I am doing now is trying to participate in that national debate,” Cruz told ABC's "This Week."
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