Ted Cruz warns of high stakes during Iowa visit as 2026 midterms loom
As Republicans gathered at a conservative event in Clive ahead of a pivotal midterm election, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned that what happens in Iowa could help determine the direction of the country.
Obviously you’re here for the faith and Freedom events, but we’re also heading into *** big 2026 election cycle. What are the stakes for what happened right now? Listen, the midterms are *** massive battle. They’re *** battle for the entire direction of the country. Uh, here in Iowa we have *** very contested governor’s race, *** very contested Senate race, multiple very contested congressional races, and I’ll tell you, I look back to the last year and *** half, what we’ve accomplished with President Trump in the White House, with *** Republican Senate. In *** Republican House has been incredible. We’ve seen illegal border crossings drop more than 99%. We’ve seen the murder rate go down 20%. Deaths from drug overdoses are down more than 20%. We’ve seen the biggest tax cut in American history. And we’ve also passed two landmark pieces of legislation, both of which I was blessed to write. School choice. We passed into law the biggest federal school choice program that’s ever been enacted. It is gonna unlock tens of billions of dollars of scholarships for kids to attend the school of their choice. It’s gonna change the future for our kids in Iowa and across the country, and then also the Trump accounts which I wrote as well. Every child in America starting on January on July 4th is gonna have *** personal investment account open for them. Newborn children will have it seeded with $1000 and parents and family and employers can all give $5000 *** year in *** tax advantage account invested in the stock market, which means every kid in America is gonna experience the miracle of compound growth. And we’re going to make *** whole new generation of capitalists. Those are big, big historic victories, and the midterms are all about whether we keep winning victories like that or if the Democrats take the House or God forbid the Senate. Instead, Congress will just go to war every single day with President Trump trying to halt the agenda day in, day out. I don’t think that’s what the people of Iowa want. I know it’s not what the people of Texas want, and this midterm is *** huge battle for our whole country. Senator, there are 5 Republicans in Iowa who are all running for the nomination to be governor. There are probably some. Republican voters in that room who haven’t made up their mind, what types of qualities do you think it takes for *** candidate to be the Republican candidate to win in what’s likely to be *** competitive and potentially tough general election? It is *** competitive race for governor. There are good people who are running who are friends of mine whom I like and respect. You know, I have faith in the voters of Iowa. The voters of Iowa are are principled they’re conservative. They love America they love Jesus, and, and they’re very good at looking candidates in the eye and taking *** measure of who they are and what they stand for. And look, the one thing I know you’ve also got ***, *** formidable Democrat running for governor here and if you look across the country at the pattern in states all across the country, the Democrats are very good. At finding candidates who tell the voters, oh I’m *** moderate I’m reasonable I’m not crazy like those other Democrats and I will tell you in every other state where that has happened if they get in office. It’s *** bait and switch. Take *** look at Virginia. Abigail Spamberger ran and said, I’m *** moderate, and the instant she got elected, she became *** far left radical, letting criminals out of jail and refusing to work with ICE or Border patrol. That kind of extreme agenda sadly is where today’s Democrat Party is and the great thing about Iowa is there are common sense heartland values here that that I’m confident are gonna remain grounded in who we are. Senator, you obviously won the, you know, 2016 caucuses. You’re returning to Iowa. Are you thinking at all about *** presidential run in 2028? You know, there’ll be time to address those questions. 2028 is *** long way away. What I will tell you is that we’ve got *** huge election this year, huge election in Iowa. I’m gonna be back here this year in Iowa because this is going to matter for the midterms, and, and I’m gonna be all over the country campaigning in the midterms because I think it’s critical. That Republicans keep our majority in the House, that we grow our majority in the House, that we keep our majority in the Senate, that we grow our majority in the Senate so we can keep delivering victories to the voters. Look, I think most people in Iowa, what do they want? They want low taxes, low and reasonable regulations. They want small businesses to do well so you get lots and lots of jobs. They want their fundamental freedoms protected free speech, religious liberty, the Second Amendment, and they want their families to be safe. That means securing the border. That means locking up criminals, not releasing murderers and gang bangers. That common sense agenda is what we’re seeing right now, and I am all in fighting to make sure we continue winning victories for the people of. Iowa and people of America all across the country. Donald Trump can be on the ballot. Are events like this where you’re setting the stakes of the election, you know, how far does that go to getting these folks to talk to their friends about making sure there’s energy and momentum to get out to? It is hugely important. Look, the dynamic whenever you have one party in power is the party out of power, they’re often angry. That can mean they can be more motivated. In this case, the extreme left. They hate Donald Trump. It is an all consuming anger and rage. What that means is the far left, they’re going to show up. They’re gonna show up because they hate Trump. And the question that’s gonna decide Iowa, that’s gonna decide the House of Representatives gonna decide the Senate is does everybody else show up? Do conservatives show up to Christians show up to just common sense normal people show up if common sense normal people show up and vote, we’ll have *** great election day and we will grow the Republican majorities in both the House and Senate but if folks stay home. And they just let the angry radical left, the kind of people that are marching in the street saying we want open borders, the kind of people who are marching in the street saying don’t arrest criminal illegal aliens, don’t arrest murderers and rapists, the, the kind of people who want to see boys and girls sports and men and women sports, who, who wanna see children. Be mutilated and sterilized in sex change surgeries. Look, *** few years ago, if I’d have said that to you, you would’ve laughed. You would’ve said, come on, nobody supports that. I can tell you in the Senate, every single Democrat senator has voted in favor of taxpayer funding to mutilate children in sex change operations. I, I just think that’s immoral. Look, no child has the maturity, has the right, no 8 year old is in *** position to say, you know what? I wanna give up my ability to ever have children again. That is wrong to do to children and the amazing thing is nationally that that’s *** 90/10 issue almost everybody agrees on that and yet today’s Democrat Party is so extreme every elected Democrat in the Senate is on the other side that’s why. It’s just *** question of who shows up and that and and I’m here at the faith and Freedom gathering because the the folks here, the activists here, they pray, they work, they knock on doors, they make phone calls, they, they reach out to their friends and neighbors and it’s all about showing up and, and we’ve gotta make sure. Americans who love this country show up and vote. If that happens, we’re going to do great. But real quick, I just, yeah, last question because my husband is *** college football fan and he’ll kill me if I don’t ask this. You gained *** lot of traction in our state when you tweeted about Iowa State football players transferring out. And the need for Congress to take action on this. Where do things stand right now? Look, I have been working night and day on trying to get Congress to step in and save college sports. We’re facing an absolute crisis in college sports. We’re seeing programs shutting down. Every just just last week Arkansas canceled its men’s tennis and women’s tennis. Every week you see another programming, another program shutting down. The transfer portal is the wild west where players that are with your team one week, the next week are gone. That’s not good for the students. It’s not good for schools. It’s not good for sports. And, and I think Congress needs to step in and, and, and pass common sense legislation to prevent the chaos. I’ve been working for 3 years on that legislation. I’ll give you some good news. I’ve been negotiating with the Democrats. 2 years ago, even 1 year ago, it was difficult. We were running into *** brick wall. In the last 2 months. I’ve made more progress negotiating with the Democrats than I have in 3 years. And so we are making real progress. My hope is and with the next few weeks we’ll be able to roll out bipartisan legislation to fix the chaos and, and, and to, to bring some semblance of sanity and order. We’re gonna protect the rights of college athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness. That’s fair. But we also don’t want every school in the country bankrupted and programs being canceled. We, we don’t wanna see smaller schools shutting down their programs. We don’t wanna see women’s sports, Olympic sports, track and field. All of those are at jeopardy if we don’t act. So I, I really hope we can see levelheaded people come together and say this is worth saving. Senator, thanks for making time. I really appreciate it. Absolutely, it’s *** pleasure.
Ted Cruz warns of high stakes during Iowa visit as 2026 midterms loom
As Republicans gathered at a conservative event in Clive ahead of a pivotal midterm election, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned that what happens in Iowa could help determine the direction of the country.
As Republicans gathered at a conservative event in Clive ahead of a pivotal midterm election, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned that what happens in Iowa could help determine the direction of the country. Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses during his 2016 presidential run, returned to the state Friday night to speak at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event, where he warned the upcoming midterms could determine the direction of the country.“Listen, the midterms are a massive battle,” Cruz said. “They’re a battle for the entire direction of the country. Here in Iowa, we have a very contested governor’s race, a very contested Senate race, multiple very contested congressional races.”For Republicans, Iowa is the first state where voters pick a presidential candidate, so visits like this often spark questions about a future White House run. Cruz brushed off the speculation and did not clarify whether he is weighing a presidential run in 2028.“You know, there’ll be time to address those questions. 2028 is a long way away,” Cruz said. “What I will tell you is that we’ve got a huge election this year, huge election in Iowa.”He added that he plans to return to Iowa as the election approaches.“I’m going to be back here this year in Iowa, because this is going to matter for the midterms,” Cruz said.With competitive races across the ballot, Cruz said Iowa voters will play a critical role in whether Republicans maintain their grip on power in Washington or face a divided government.“The midterms are all about whether we keep winning victories like that or if the Democrats take the House or, God forbid, the Senate,” Cruz said. “Instead, Congress will just go to war every single day with President Trump, trying to halt the agenda day in, day out.”Cruz pointed to what he called recent Republican policy wins, including tax cuts and a federal school choice program, as evidence of what is at stake.“We’ve seen the biggest tax cut in American history,” Cruz said. “And we’ve also passed two landmark pieces of legislation, both of which I was blessed to write.”He said one of those efforts, expanding school choice, “is going to unlock tens of billions of dollars of scholarships for kids to attend the school of their choice” and “is going to change the future for our kids in Iowa and across the country.”Cruz also highlighted a new savings program for children, saying that every child in America “is going to have a personal investment account open for them.””We’re going to make a whole new generation of capitalists,” Cruz added.Beyond policy, Cruz emphasized turnout as the deciding factor in 2026, arguing that enthusiasm on both sides will shape the outcome.“The question that’s going to decide Iowa, that’s going to decide the House of Representatives, decide the Senate, is does everybody else show up?” Cruz said. “Do Conservatives show up? Do Christians show up? Do just common-sense, normal people show up?”He warned that if Republican voters stay home, Democrats could gain control and shift the direction of federal policy. WATCH: All 5 GOP candidates for Iowa governor make their pitch to conservative voters in CliveCruz weighs in on Iowa governor raceCruz also weighed in on Iowa’s closely watched governor’s race, calling it competitive and expressing confidence in the five Republicans running to be the GOP nominee.“It is a competitive race for governor,” Cruz said. “They’re good people who are running, who are friends of mine, who I like and respect.”He said Iowa voters are well-positioned to evaluate the field.“The voters of Iowa are principled,” Cruz said. “They’re conservative. They love America … and they’re very good at looking candidates in the eye and taking a measure of who they are and what they stand for.”Cruz talks about protecting college sports Cruz also addressed an issue closer to home for many Iowans, the future of college sports, saying Congress is working on bipartisan legislation to address changes driven by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness rules.“We’re facing an absolute crisis in college sports,” Cruz said. “We also don’t want every school in the country bankrupted and programs being canceled. We don’t want to see smaller schools shutting down their programs. … All of those are at jeopardy if we don’t act.””The transfer portal is the wild west,” Cruz added. He said he has recently made progress in negotiations with congressional Democrats.“My hope is, within the next few weeks, we’ll be able to roll out bipartisan legislation to fix the chaos and to bring some semblance of sanity and order,” Cruz said.
As Republicans gathered at a conservative event in Clive ahead of a pivotal midterm election, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned that what happens in Iowa could help determine the direction of the country.
Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses during his 2016 presidential run, returned to the state Friday night to speak at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event, where he warned the upcoming midterms could determine the direction of the country.
“Listen, the midterms are a massive battle,” Cruz said. “They’re a battle for the entire direction of the country. Here in Iowa, we have a very contested governor’s race, a very contested Senate race, multiple very contested congressional races.”
For Republicans, Iowa is the first state where voters pick a presidential candidate, so visits like this often spark questions about a future White House run. Cruz brushed off the speculation and did not clarify whether he is weighing a presidential run in 2028.
“You know, there’ll be time to address those questions. 2028 is a long way away,” Cruz said. “What I will tell you is that we’ve got a huge election this year, huge election in Iowa.”
He added that he plans to return to Iowa as the election approaches.
“I’m going to be back here this year in Iowa, because this is going to matter for the midterms,” Cruz said.
With competitive races across the ballot, Cruz said Iowa voters will play a critical role in whether Republicans maintain their grip on power in Washington or face a divided government.
“The midterms are all about whether we keep winning victories like that or if the Democrats take the House or, God forbid, the Senate,” Cruz said. “Instead, Congress will just go to war every single day with President Trump, trying to halt the agenda day in, day out.”
Cruz pointed to what he called recent Republican policy wins, including tax cuts and a federal school choice program, as evidence of what is at stake.
“We’ve seen the biggest tax cut in American history,” Cruz said. “And we’ve also passed two landmark pieces of legislation, both of which I was blessed to write.”
He said one of those efforts, expanding school choice, “is going to unlock tens of billions of dollars of scholarships for kids to attend the school of their choice” and “is going to change the future for our kids in Iowa and across the country.”
Cruz also highlighted a new savings program for children, saying that every child in America “is going to have a personal investment account open for them.”
“We’re going to make a whole new generation of capitalists,” Cruz added.
Beyond policy, Cruz emphasized turnout as the deciding factor in 2026, arguing that enthusiasm on both sides will shape the outcome.
“The question that’s going to decide Iowa, that’s going to decide the House of Representatives, decide the Senate, is does everybody else show up?” Cruz said. “Do Conservatives show up? Do Christians show up? Do just common-sense, normal people show up?”
He warned that if Republican voters stay home, Democrats could gain control and shift the direction of federal policy.
WATCH: All 5 GOP candidates for Iowa governor make their pitch to conservative voters in Clive
Cruz weighs in on Iowa governor race
Cruz also weighed in on Iowa’s closely watched governor’s race, calling it competitive and expressing confidence in the five Republicans running to be the GOP nominee.
“It is a competitive race for governor,” Cruz said. “They’re good people who are running, who are friends of mine, who I like and respect.”
He said Iowa voters are well-positioned to evaluate the field.
“The voters of Iowa are principled,” Cruz said. “They’re conservative. They love America … and they’re very good at looking candidates in the eye and taking a measure of who they are and what they stand for.”
Cruz talks about protecting college sports
Cruz also addressed an issue closer to home for many Iowans, the future of college sports, saying Congress is working on bipartisan legislation to address changes driven by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness rules.
“We’re facing an absolute crisis in college sports,” Cruz said. “We also don’t want every school in the country bankrupted and programs being canceled. We don’t want to see smaller schools shutting down their programs. … All of those are at jeopardy if we don’t act.”
“The transfer portal is the wild west,” Cruz added. He said he has recently made progress in negotiations with congressional Democrats.
“My hope is, within the next few weeks, we’ll be able to roll out bipartisan legislation to fix the chaos and to bring some semblance of sanity and order,” Cruz said.