Competing against both Ben Carson and Scott Walker at ‘South Carolina’s largest annual gathering of conservatives‘, Politico says the event was a ‘smash success’ for Ted Cruz who is trying hard to win the late February primary in South Carolina:

POLITICO – Three presidential candidates came to Rep. Jeff Duncan’s Faith and Freedom BBQ here in South Carolina’s northwest corner on Monday, but only Sen. Ted Cruz brought a crowd with him.

Cruz, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were the three featured speakers at the conservative congressman’s annual cattle call, and there were supporters here backing each of the candidates. But most of the estimated 2,000 people seated around tables at the Anderson Civic Center came for Cruz, easily identifiable by the red “courageous conservative” shirts they wore.

Winning the Feb. 27 primary in South Carolina, where Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio have built strong organizations, would be a coup for the brash Texas senator. “South Carolina’s role is to ensure that the next Republican nominee is a real and consistent conservative,” Cruz told the crowd.

Cruz’s emerging strategy focuses heavily on dominating southern states and winning the March 1 contests known as the “SEC primary,” and he has been assiduously courting religious voters in particular. His appearance at the barbecue, billed as “South Carolina’s largest annual gathering of conservatives,” was by all indicators a smash success: Fans repeatedly swarmed the senator as he made his way around the space, shaking hands and taking pictures, and he had the most applause lines of the night. Dozens of Cruz volunteers with clipboards were on hand to sign up attendees.

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