http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/ted-cruz-new-hampshire-primary-218921 Will Ted Cruz surprise in New Hampshire?
The primary is the first indication of whether he can expand his base beyond evangelicals.
By Katie Glueck
02/08/16 04:59 PM EST
KEENE, N.H. — No one expects Ted Cruz to win Tuesday's primary here. But he's not writing off the state either — far from it — and some of the Texan's allies say he has a real shot at showing he's more than just the candidate of the evangelical right.
“You’re going to see the elements of his success, the components of his success here being different than in Iowa,” said former New Hampshire statehouse Speaker Bill O’Brien, Cruz’s New Hampshire co-chair. “You’re going to see a lot more liberty Republicans be more of a base of his support.”
Cruz has long said that he'll emerge as the conservative consensus candidate if he can bring together Christian conservative, libertarian and tea party activists — as well as, he often says on the trail, Reagan Democrats. With its relatively secular electorate and preponderance of independent voters, he New Hampshire primary will be an early indication whether Cruz can broaden his appeal.
This is no Iowa, the state Cruz won last Monday: Barely more than a fifth of Republican primary voters identified as evangelical or born-again Christians, according to 2012 exit polls — in contrast to nearly two-thirds in Iowa last week.
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