Days until Iowa caucuses: 3
Days until SEC Primary: 32
Texas:
GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz only now appears to be nailing down his home state for a March 1 win. A new KTVT-TV/Dixie Strategies poll puts the U.S. senator from Texas at 30 percent, Donald Trump at 25 percent, Marco Rubio at 12 percent, and Jeb Bush 8. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton stands at 50 percent, to Bernie Sanders' 16 percent.
That's a change from October, when the same pollsters said Cruz was trailing in Texas behind Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
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Gov. Greg Abbott indicated he will "weigh in" on the GOP presidential race before SEC Primary day, as he has not backed a candidate. From the Texas Tribune:
The governor is seen as a likely supporter of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the former solicitor general of Texas who worked under Abbott in the attorney general's office. Abbott's predecessor, Rick Perry, endorsed Cruz on Monday and campaigned with him in Iowa on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Alabama:
State Rep. Ed Henry, chairman of Donald Trump's Alabama campaign, summed up his presidential choice thusly: "I want a president that's more like John Wayne than Justin Bieber." (Yellowhammer News)
Tennessee:
A new Middle Tennessee State University poll puts Donald Trump leading the Republican presidential field with 33 percent, followed by Ted Cruz at 17 percent, Ben Carson at 7 percent, and Marco Rubio at 5 percent. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 47 to 15 percent. (The Tennessean)
Arkansas:
The Secretary of State's office predicts March 1 turnout will be close to the 22 percent mark set in 2012, when Arkansas was late and mostly irrelevant in the presidential primary calendar. Political leaders expect a larger surge of interest and turnout. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
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