Ted Cruz Looks for his Iowa moment

It's a pattern that would continue through the half-hour session, which was littered with applause lines and featured two spontaneous standing ovations—one when Cruz called for defunding and prosecuting Planned Parenthood over a recent video he called "gruesome and disgusting," which featured one of its officials discussing donating fetal organs; another when he vowed, if elected, to revoke "every single unconstitutional, illegal executive action" Obama has taken. He also attacked against the Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, accusing his fellow Republicans who don't want to amend the constitution of spouting Obama talking points, and trashed the new Iran nuclear accord.

It was a festival of red meat for a crowd that lapped it all up. In a classic Cruzian act, he himself stood up with the crowd to applaud several of his own lines.

"You're a powerful speaker," Luntz deadpanned.

Of course, it was a Cruz-friendly crowd, but the same reception was not enjoyed by other social conservatives like Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor currently leading the field in Iowa polls, or Huckabee, who is running for president again.

"And thank you for being a fighter," said one attendee who asked Cruz a question about "Commiecare," devising a new jeering term for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

See also: Cruz gets standing ovation in Texas

Now the unsettling part for Cruz: The Family Leadership Summit was a reminder that anything less than an impressive showing in Iowa could doom Cruz's chances. He's not a natural fit for any other of the early states—New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada—and after those contests are decided, the field is expected to narrow significantly. And so far, Cruz has yet to show polling strength in the Hawkeye State. He was tied for fourth place in a Quinnipiac University poll of Iowa Republican voters released July 1. A prior Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa poll late May placed him in the middle of the pack. Potential was there—primary voters viewed him favorably—but they preferred others.

As Trump sucked up most of the oxygen Saturday with an inflammatory remark deriding Arizona Sen. John McCain's war record, Cruz stood apart from most candidates in refusing to disavow the brash real estate mogul's remarks. That seems risky given the intense backlash, but it may be a calculated strategy that involves play nice with Trump in the hope that he flames out and his supporters flock to Cruz. It's a lot of supporters, too: Trump has led the Republican field in several national polls lately.

Cruz's other problem is the massive field of candidates competing for the conservative vote, including Walker, Huckabee, Santorum and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

The question is whether Cruz's book publicity and tour through Iowa can translate into the polling boost he needs. If not now, when?

"People like [Cruz] because of his bold and courageous spirit," Vander Plaats said. "He's not only willing to take on Democrats but he's willing to take out the Republicans who wear our jerseys but score for the other team."