Iowa has only six members of Congress and a governor. Only one, Rep. Steve King, has endorsed a candidate (Cruz). This gives the impression that the Republican party in Iowa has mostly stayed out of the race (although Gov. Terry Branstad has publicly called for Cruz’s defeat).

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In contrast to more senior party leaders, a majority of current Republican state legislators in Iowa — 47 of 82 — have endorsed a candidate who is still in the race.

And the Iowa endorsements leader is clearly Cruz. He has 26 percent of the endorsements (12 total), while Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina have eight each (17 percent), Chris Christie has six (13 percent), John Kasich has two (4 percent), and Ben Carson, Rick Santorum and Donald Trump each have a single endorsement (1 percent).

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Cruz’s endorsement lead is consistent with the conventional wisdom that he has underlying strength in the Iowa caucus, despite Trump’s apparent lead in the race.

Interestingly, retired state legislators have made a different decision. Most have endorsed the so-called “establishment” candidates such as Kasich, Christie and, especially, Bush. This could be a consequence of increasing state polarization, with more moderate legislators being replaced by more extreme ones.

Of course, there are other party activists who also serve as important signals for undecided Iowa Caucus participants, and the TPD coauthors specifically argue that these are also valid party insiders. For example, Cruz secured the endorsement of Bob Vander Plaats, who is the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a prominent Iowa organization.

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Arguably, current state legislators should have the most valuable endorsements to offer. Their relationships with other officials, donors, interest groups and friendly journalists should be the most active. If so, this could work to Cruz’s advantage.

The point here is not that endorsements determine election outcomes, or to forecast a Cruz victory in Iowa. But looking at state legislators changes our perspective of a party sitting on the sidelines. State legislators show us a Republican Party actively trying to decide.