Tea party Sen. Ted Cruz took nothing short of a victory lap in his home state of Texas this week, appearing before crowds that overlooked the fact that the Republican who led the charge to kill money for President Barack Obama's health care law had failed.
Now he's coming to Iowa, where Republicans have the first say in the presidential race -- and will view him much more skeptically.
In Iowa, and across the nation, Republicans are fighting an internal war pitting tea partyers like Cruz against mainstream Republicans advocating a more pragmatic approach.
The two sides will be on display Friday when Cruz -- a Republican agitator who hasn't ruled out running for president -- gives the keynote address at the Iowa Republican Party's annual fall fundraiser.
