Story highlights "We don't view any state as a 'must-win,' " Ted Cruz said

Cruz said he would follow through on his conservative campaign pledges, unlike his Republican opponents

Washington (CNN) Ted Cruz is trying to tamp down expectations in the final hours before Iowans cast the first ballots of the 2016 primary season as a new poll shows him trailing GOP front-runner Donald Trump in the Hawkeye State.

"We don't view any state as a 'must-win,' " the Texas senator told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview that aired Sunday on "State of the Union." "I think we're positioned to do very well here in Iowa. I think we've worked very hard. You know the grassroots team we've got is unbelievable, it is second to none."

Cruz is hoping that evangelicals and conservatives frustrated with the Washington establishment will hand him a victory in the critical first-in-the-nation caucus state. But Cruz, who once led in several Iowa polls, would need to pull off an underdog victory: a Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics survey released Saturday night found him trailing Donald Trump, 23% to 28%.

In explaining his pitch to voters, Cruz told Tapper he would follow through on his conservative campaign pledges, unlike his Republican opponents.

"The central question in this primary is trust," Cruz said. "We are tired of being burned."

Read More