Iowa conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats is known as the “King Maker” in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. The CEO of The Family Leader, a conservative organization, told FOXBusiness.com he is certain Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has the goods to win over caucus-goers in the Hawkeye State.

Continue Reading Below

“Ted Cruz is an exceptional candidate. You are seeing conservatives around Iowa uniting around him because he is a principled, full spectrum, constitutional, pro-family conservative that has a consistency of convictions that we can trust; So that is why you are seeing this unification around Ted Cruz,” said Vander Plaats.

He endorsed Senator Cruz back in December, boosting his electability profile to Iowa voters. Vander Plaats’ past support of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum provided a win for both candidates during the Iowa caucuses. With the caucus just three days away, he is zeroing in on Ted Cruz’s grassroots game plan.

“You are looking at maybe 120,000-150,000 Iowa caucus-goers so it’s all a turnout game…We get interested in polls but polls are just that – they are polls. They are a snapshot but they can’t judge the turnout, that’s why Iowans surprise people like with Governor Huckabee in 2008 or Rick Santorum in 2012 because they had better turnout mechanisms,” said Vander Plaats.

“What I can say about Senator Ted Cruz is that he has a great ground game – the door knocking, the phone calling, the impassioned support he has among volunteers – they are going to come out for Ted Cruz on Monday night.”

Vander Plaats says in the coming days he will “barnstorm the state” alongside the senator and hold a rally the day before the Iowa caucuses on Monday, February 1.

“It’s all get out the vote now, it’s all time to mobilize people to get to the caucuses and I think if we do our job to mobilize people there is an infrastructure here and a grassroots enthusiasm for Ted Cruz. I think that is going to perform on Monday night and when it does I believe that Ted Cruz can carry off that Iowa caucus trophy,” said Vander Plaats.

While there is a consistent presence of candidates in Iowa, Vander Plaats says no contender should feel their support from caucus-goers is locked up.

“They are really trying to vet the candidates not only by what they see on commercials or Facebook or social media, it’s also what they see in person. They get asked the tough questions and so when Fox News and Megyn Kelly are there last night asking the tough questions and Donald Trump is running from it all, these other candidates have had to get asked these questions. Trump is the one that does this fly in-fly out and a lot of people don’t get the questions asked that they want to have asked,” said Vander Plaats.