Sen. Ted Cruz is taking his campaign to the South in an effort to expand the GOP primary map and his chances of winning the Republican presidential nomination along with it.
A group of Southern states are banding together to hold a Super Tuesday primary in March of next year — it has been dubbed the “SEC primary” — and the Texan is scheduled to embark on a bus tour through this Republican-dominated region of the country to stake his claim and create a buffer against underperformance in the key early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
Cruz’s Southern road trip begins Friday in Charleston, S.C., the day after the first GOP presidential debate in Cleveland, continuing that day in Savannah, Ga.. On Saturday, the senator hits three cities in Georgia; on Sunday he’s in Alabama and on Monday he’s in Tennessee. Also on Cruz’ itinerary are Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and his home state of Texas.
The Cruz campaign confirmed the senator’s schedule to the Washington Examiner. The news was first reported by Politico. A portion of the bus tour schedule follows:
Friday
1:00 p.m. – Charleston, S.C.
5:30 p.m. – Savannah, Ga.
Saturday — Georgia
11:30 a.m. – Atlanta (Red State Gathering)
4:00 p.m. – Newnan
7:30 p.m. – Midland
Sunday, Aug. 9 — Alabama
11 a.m. – Birmingham
2:00 p.m. – Pelham
6:30 p.m. – Huntsville
Monday, Aug. 10 — Tennessee
11:15 a.m. – Murfeesburgh
1:30 p.m. – Brentwood
6:30 p.m. – Jackson
Tuesday, Aug. 11 — Mississippi (plus Memphis, Tenn.)
9:00 am – Tupelo
12 pm – Olive Branch
2:30 pm – Memphis
Wednesday, Aug. 12 — Arkansas
11:30 am – Little Rock
2:30 pm – Russellville
6:30 pm – Van Buren
Thursday, Aug. 13 — Oklahoma
12:00 pm – Oklahoma City
4:00 pm – Bartlesville (event with Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla.)
7:00 pm – Tulsa
Disclosure: The author’s wife works as an adviser to Scott Walker.
