Cruz plans 36-county bus tour in Iowa

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will ramp up his efforts in the early-voting state, less than a month before the first votes are cast as he climbs into first place in the Iowa polls.

The GOP presidential candidate heads back to Iowa weeks before the caucuses to roll out the Cruzin’ to Caucus Iowa bus tour, according to a report from The Des Moines Register.  

{mosads}Cruz will visit 36 counties from Jan. 4 to Jan. 9. Last June, Cruz vowed to travel to all 99 counties in Iowa, but this trip will leave him shy of completing that goal.

The Texas senator currently sits in second place in national polls, but has surpassed Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump in Iowa GOP polls, according to the RealClearPolitics average.

Cruz continues to consolidate support among evangelicals around the state. He recently landed coveted endorsements from James Dobson, founder of the social conservative advocacy group Focus on the Family, and influential conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats.

The Iowa caucuses will be held on Feb. 1.