Rep. Steve King (R-IA) suggested that the Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) were the two Republicans that won the Iowa congressman’s Iowa Freedom Summit.
“Basically, the press reports I read were mostly accurate in their analysis,” King said according to Bloomberg Politics. “I think Ted Cruz had the highest bar to reach, and I think he cleared that bar. I don’t know how much greater than expectations it was, but he at least met and then exceeded expectations. I’m confident that he did for the people who had not heard him speak before.”
King also said Wisconsin Walker, who also seems to be planning on running for president in 2016, did well at the summit. Walker won positive coverage for delivering a fiery speech at the summit.
“Probably the person who helped himself the most would be Scott Walker,” King said. “The bar wasn’t as high, and he gave a good speech. He connected with the audience in a good, constructive way. Chris Christie helped himself. He was humorous, he was personal, and it was a good move for him to be there. And Carly Fiorina —you probably noticed this, but when she came out the response was warm but not overwhelming. She converted that warmth into standing ovations multiple times.”
Walker and Cruz were two of a number of possible Republican presidential candidates to attend the summit. The only two major candidates who didn’t attend the event were former Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee for president.
