kathie obradovich covers all things iowa for us. thanks for having me. >> ted cruz received two rousing welcomes from audiences last saturday and monday in texas. fresh off the shutdown. what kind of reaction are you expecting from republicans there in the hawkeye state? >> ted cruz has a sellout crowd here in iowa. i expect them to be very enthusiastic about him. he is very, very popular in certain segments of the republican party in iowa. not across the board, but in certain segments of the most active republicans. and the ones who, should he be running for the caucus in 2016, would be the most likely to go out and support him. this is a dinner that is a big kickoff to the fall season. ted cruz is just the first of kind of a parade of republicans that we have coming into the state. but i would say he is one of the most popular right now. >> the register's editorial board, your paper's editorial board wrote an opinion piece last week criticizing iowa's delegation for its role in the shutdown. governor terry branstead tries to be di