Cruz-Rubio battle over undecided Iowans intensifies

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are fighting for the favor of many of the same undecided voters across Iowa, where even some of the most attentive Republicans said they can't make up their minds less than four weeks before voting begins.

That was so among Iowans who gathered before sunrise to hear Rubio at a town-hall-style meeting in Cedar Rapids. The Florida senator impressed the crowd, but few left having decided whether he would get their vote.

"I haven't settled on one candidate 100 percent," said Mike Grover, a 65-year-old Cedar Rapids man who is among the thousands of "persuadable voters" still up for grabs.

In small towns from Cherokee to Sioux Center, an overwhelming number of would-be voters said Cruz and Rubio are in contention for their support.

Their policies, personalities and presumed ability to defeat the Democratic nominee in the fall are under close examination.

Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz campaigns Jan. 4 at Penny's Diner in Missouri Valley, Iowa. (Nati Harnik ~ Associated Press)

Donald Trump comes up often as well, as do retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

At 44 and 45, respectively, Rubio and Cruz are the youngest candidates in the 2016 field and the only Hispanics.

"I've seen Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz," Connie Peterson, a retired 74-year-old Republican, said Wednesday at a Rubio event in Marshalltown. "In ways they seem similar, and I can't make up my mind there." She added: "It's going to be a hard decision."

A day earlier, at a Cruz rally along Iowa's western border, Mondamin real estate agent Lary Clark said he was also torn between the Texas senator, a sharp-tongued combatant in Washington, and the smoother Rubio -- both conservatives with tea-party roots but divergent paths.

"I want somebody who's going to be able to win the general election," Clark said. By his calculation, Cruz or Rubio, with their Cuban-American heritage, may be positioned best to capture Latino votes.

Cruz is working to build on his strong Iowa polling this week with a 28-stop, six-day bus tour focused largely on small towns and farm communities. Rubio is making four stops over two days, having spent nine days in the state over the past month, his campaign said.

Rubio, who is lagging behind Cruz in the polls, has been more forceful in criticizing Cruz while they've crisscrossed Iowa. Rubio is bluntly challenging Cruz's commitment to national security, while Cruz casts Rubio as an establishment favorite who supports "amnesty" for immigrants in the country illegally.

Undecided voters said they need more time to sort through the big pack of contenders.

"There's been so many," said Iowa corn farmer Jim Nelson of Cherokee. "We're trying to go through them all. Give them all a chance."

People in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire are notoriously late deciders and the fact they have a dozen contenders to choose from is making their decision all the more difficult.

A Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll conducted last month found only 33 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers had made up their minds, with two-thirds saying they could be persuaded by any candidate.

That's in line with voters nationwide, according to a Quinnipiac University poll, which found in late December nearly 6 in 10 Republicans could change their mind before casting their primary vote.