DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday helped kick off a morning and afternoon of politicking in this crucial early primary state, telling around 1,500 Republican voters that nominating a consistent conservative is the ticket to winning next year's presidential election.

The Tea Party favorite from Texas, who preceded Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky on the stage, is making a play to consolidate the conservative wing of the Republican Party ahead of the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses. Cruz, who ranks third in the Washington Examiner's presidential power rankings, still trails retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson and businessman and reality television star Donald Trump in the Hawkeye State, but has been making gains in grassroots organization and in public opinion polls.

"Our country is in crisis and we need to stand up and lead to turn it around," Cruz said. "How about this time, we nominate a candidate as committed to conservative principles and [President] Barack Obama is to liberal principles."

Paul, fresh off a failed filibuster of the bipartisan budget and debt ceiling deal negotiated by President Obama and Republican leaders in Congress, joined the chorus of GOP presidential candidates who have been beating up on their own party. "We elected a Republican House, we elected a Republican Senate, and what do we have to show for it? Nothing," Paul said, to an audience that largely agrees with him.

Paul also took on Trump, the national front-runner for the Republican nomination who is currently running second in Iowa, behind Carson. Paul criticized Trump for his support of eminent domain, a policy largely opposed by conservative voters. The audience cheered. Under eminent domain, individuals can be forced to sell their homes to make way for large private developments.

"If I'm president, no private property will be taken by government and given to a private company," said Paul, who has been languishing near the bottom of most state and national polls.

The Growth and Opportunity Party event, hosted by the Iowa GOP, was scheduled to draw 10 Republican presidential contenders for speeches and mingling with voters at the state fair grounds in Des Moines. Following Cruz, who sits in fourth place in Iowa according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls gauging the sentiment of likely caucus-goers, candidates set to take the stage here included:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and 2008 caucuses winner

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 caucuses winner

Businesswoman Carly Fiorina

There are less than 100 days to go until the caucuses, which mark the first votes of the 2016 primary campaign. A majority of Iowa Republicans is still shopping for the candidate they want to represent the GOP in a general election against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, according to public opinion polls. But they are beginning to pay closer attention and winnow their options.

At least one voter switched allegiances just this week after watching the Wednesday evening debate on CNBC. Rick Adams, 56, said he's now leaning toward Cruz, after previously siding with Carson, the current undisputed leader in the race to win Iowa.

"At the beginning of the debate, [Carson] kind of got a little bit stumbled up a little bit on a couple of the questions and I thought he would be a little bit more prepared than he was," said Adams, an insurance agent who showed up at the Iowa fair grounds to hear from the candidates. "When [Cruz is] looking at the camera, I don't feel like he's just looking in the camera, I feel like he's looking right at me."