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| The strategist vs. the showman: Cruz and Trump run very different campaigns | The strategist vs. the showman: Cruz and Trump run very different campaigns |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| SCOTIA, N.Y. — Ted Cruz took the stage Thursday in the most traditional of campaign trail venues: a stuffy gym at a Christian school where hundreds of people listened to the stump speech Cruz recites at nearly every campaign event and cheered, snapped photos and held handmade signs. | SCOTIA, N.Y. — Ted Cruz took the stage Thursday in the most traditional of campaign trail venues: a stuffy gym at a Christian school where hundreds of people listened to the stump speech Cruz recites at nearly every campaign event and cheered, snapped photos and held handmade signs. |
| It was a far cry from an event the night before in a cavernous movie studio on Long Island, where Donald Trump roared in front of 10,000 people who had no idea what he would say — because Trump always wings it. | It was a far cry from an event the night before in a cavernous movie studio on Long Island, where Donald Trump roared in front of 10,000 people who had no idea what he would say — because Trump always wings it. |
| “It’s great to be home,” the New York business mogul told the raucous crowd. “I love these people! These are my people!” | “It’s great to be home,” the New York business mogul told the raucous crowd. “I love these people! These are my people!” |
| [Trump, pivoting from Wisconsin loss, hits Cruz on ‘New York values’] | [Trump, pivoting from Wisconsin loss, hits Cruz on ‘New York values’] |
| Such is the difference between the two men at the top of the GOP race and the operations they helm. | Such is the difference between the two men at the top of the GOP race and the operations they helm. |
| Cruz is the disciplined strategist who stays relentlessly on message and runs a by-the-book organization filled with aides and state chairs well versed in the nitty-gritty spadework of presidential campaigning. | Cruz is the disciplined strategist who stays relentlessly on message and runs a by-the-book organization filled with aides and state chairs well versed in the nitty-gritty spadework of presidential campaigning. |
| Trump, by contrast, runs what amounts to a DIY presidential campaign — sharing the questionable tweets of others, spending next to nothing on a ground game and managing to garner millions of dollars in free media simply by being Trump. | Trump, by contrast, runs what amounts to a DIY presidential campaign — sharing the questionable tweets of others, spending next to nothing on a ground game and managing to garner millions of dollars in free media simply by being Trump. |
| While the approach has left Trump with little established infrastructure as the race turns into a brawl for delegates, it has also allowed him to be nimble — and to be leading Cruz in the overall delegate count. Trump’s aides have said the essence of his on-the-fly approach will not change, although Trump signaled a partial shift Thursday by expanding the role of his delegate wrangler, Paul Manafort. | |
| [From Ukraine to Trump Tower, Paul Manafort unafraid to take on controversial jobs] | [From Ukraine to Trump Tower, Paul Manafort unafraid to take on controversial jobs] |
| Cruz’s campaign, meanwhile, is banking on the discipline and attention to detail that it has focused on since the start of the race to push it over the edge in a close contest that may well come down to a convention floor fight over delegates. | Cruz’s campaign, meanwhile, is banking on the discipline and attention to detail that it has focused on since the start of the race to push it over the edge in a close contest that may well come down to a convention floor fight over delegates. |
| “From the beginning we have been organizing from the grass roots. That was the strategy on day one,” Cruz said after his speech here. | “From the beginning we have been organizing from the grass roots. That was the strategy on day one,” Cruz said after his speech here. |
| That has meant recruiting local activists, many of them practiced political hands who know how each state’s delegate allocation process works. Some have served as delegates themselves in the past. | That has meant recruiting local activists, many of them practiced political hands who know how each state’s delegate allocation process works. Some have served as delegates themselves in the past. |
| The campaign has been ramping up its delegate recruiting efforts, which have been building for a year, with former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II playing a large role. Because of the maneuvering, Cruz may pull out more delegates from Louisiana than Trump, who won the state’s primary. Last year, the Cruz campaign dispatched surrogates to the Pacific territories and U.S. Virgin Islands in an attempt to lock down early delegate support. The results were mixed: Cruz picked up Guam’s only pledged delegate, but Trump won the Northern Mariana Islands. | The campaign has been ramping up its delegate recruiting efforts, which have been building for a year, with former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II playing a large role. Because of the maneuvering, Cruz may pull out more delegates from Louisiana than Trump, who won the state’s primary. Last year, the Cruz campaign dispatched surrogates to the Pacific territories and U.S. Virgin Islands in an attempt to lock down early delegate support. The results were mixed: Cruz picked up Guam’s only pledged delegate, but Trump won the Northern Mariana Islands. |
| [For some candidates, the path to the White House runs through paradise] | [For some candidates, the path to the White House runs through paradise] |
| Louie Hunter, a Cruz co-chair in Georgia, said the strategy has been “Let’s get the campaign up and going, let’s win some states and let’s focus on the delegates.” | Louie Hunter, a Cruz co-chair in Georgia, said the strategy has been “Let’s get the campaign up and going, let’s win some states and let’s focus on the delegates.” |
| Cruz’s advance work will be on display this weekend in Colorado, one of five states that leave it up to party members to elect the state’s 37 delegates to the national convention. In the Centennial State, Cruz has relied on a team of volunteers and political professionals who have been working since last summer to track down thousands of potential supporters. | Cruz’s advance work will be on display this weekend in Colorado, one of five states that leave it up to party members to elect the state’s 37 delegates to the national convention. In the Centennial State, Cruz has relied on a team of volunteers and political professionals who have been working since last summer to track down thousands of potential supporters. |
| Organizers said much of the work has been done with little input from Cruz national headquarters in Houston, aside from occasional conference calls. | Organizers said much of the work has been done with little input from Cruz national headquarters in Houston, aside from occasional conference calls. |
| “There are 50 different states with 50 different speeds, so the Cruz campaign has very little knowledge of how things work in Colorado probably until the last two or three weeks,” said Ken Buck, the senator’s Colorado state chairman. “My goal was to make this a low-maintenance, high-production campaign.” | “There are 50 different states with 50 different speeds, so the Cruz campaign has very little knowledge of how things work in Colorado probably until the last two or three weeks,” said Ken Buck, the senator’s Colorado state chairman. “My goal was to make this a low-maintenance, high-production campaign.” |
| Buck signed up with Cruz’s campaign in December and immediately tapped his network of conservative supporters statewide, aligning with several conservative groups, including local antiabortion and gun rights organizations — issues Cruz touts — that put forth slates of potential delegates at the state convention to ensure their interests are accounted for at the national convention. The Cruz campaign also recruited like-minded Republicans who had run for delegate in the past. | Buck signed up with Cruz’s campaign in December and immediately tapped his network of conservative supporters statewide, aligning with several conservative groups, including local antiabortion and gun rights organizations — issues Cruz touts — that put forth slates of potential delegates at the state convention to ensure their interests are accounted for at the national convention. The Cruz campaign also recruited like-minded Republicans who had run for delegate in the past. |
| Cruz supporters have already won six of the state’s 37 delegates in contests held at the congressional-district level, and he is poised to win more delegates at congressional and statewide meetings this week. | Cruz supporters have already won six of the state’s 37 delegates in contests held at the congressional-district level, and he is poised to win more delegates at congressional and statewide meetings this week. |
| In Virginia, Cruz co-chair Shak Hill said he has been impressed with how meticulous and disciplined the campaign has been. While Cruz and Trump are in open warfare now, the senator initially buddied up to the businessman in an attempt to win his supporters — something that was planned and calculated, Hill said. | In Virginia, Cruz co-chair Shak Hill said he has been impressed with how meticulous and disciplined the campaign has been. While Cruz and Trump are in open warfare now, the senator initially buddied up to the businessman in an attempt to win his supporters — something that was planned and calculated, Hill said. |
| “One of the most visible ways of strategizing the long game was not to criticize Mr. Trump in the beginning. This was intentional and it was deliberate,” Hill said. | “One of the most visible ways of strategizing the long game was not to criticize Mr. Trump in the beginning. This was intentional and it was deliberate,” Hill said. |
| [How Ted Cruz wooed and won Donald Trump] | [How Ted Cruz wooed and won Donald Trump] |
| But while Cruz’s organization served him well with his big victory Tuesday in Wisconsin, the Texan still lags behind Trump overall and is now entering hostile territory in a series of contests in the Northeast where Trump is leading in most polls. Cruz was heckled while campaigning in the Bronx on Wednesday, and here in Scotia there were signs reading “Lyin’ Ted” and “Cruz = sleaze” hung on a fence outside the school. A woman walked a St. Bernard named Samson that wore a towel reading “Vote Trump.” | But while Cruz’s organization served him well with his big victory Tuesday in Wisconsin, the Texan still lags behind Trump overall and is now entering hostile territory in a series of contests in the Northeast where Trump is leading in most polls. Cruz was heckled while campaigning in the Bronx on Wednesday, and here in Scotia there were signs reading “Lyin’ Ted” and “Cruz = sleaze” hung on a fence outside the school. A woman walked a St. Bernard named Samson that wore a towel reading “Vote Trump.” |
| Because New York awards delegates to the winners of congressional districts, Cruz is trying to ferret out Republicans in unlikely places. He made a trip Thursday to make matzo with children in Brooklyn and meet with business leaders. Ahead of the visit, Cruz’s Senate office announced he is co-sponsoring a bill to recover art stolen by the Nazis during the Holocaust. | |
| Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, said in an interview that the strength of Cruz’s ground game is a “fallacy.” | |
| “Either Ted Cruz’s ground game isn’t living up to what the expectation is, or maybe the whole thing is a bunch of hype,” he said. | “Either Ted Cruz’s ground game isn’t living up to what the expectation is, or maybe the whole thing is a bunch of hype,” he said. |
| Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said Trump’s campaign has “problems with the facts.” | Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said Trump’s campaign has “problems with the facts.” |
| “We’re ready to compete and dominate, really, no matter what this race comes down to,” she said. | “We’re ready to compete and dominate, really, no matter what this race comes down to,” she said. |
| Jenna Johnson and Ed O’Keefe in Washington and Jose A. DelReal in Bethpage, N.Y., contributed to this report. | Jenna Johnson and Ed O’Keefe in Washington and Jose A. DelReal in Bethpage, N.Y., contributed to this report. |