Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is meeting about 300 Christian leaders and key financial backers in Texas this week.

The gathering of evangelical leaders comes as the Texas senator continues to build a nationwide coalition that leans heavily on the religious community and tea party conservatives.

It’s the same coalition Cruz tapped when he ran for U.S. Senate in Texas in 2012 and defeated a sitting lieutenant governor.

Now Cruz is trying to take the model nationwide, even as some of his White House rivals compete for the same voters in a scrambled GOP race.

Cruz has already netted endorsements from some key evangelical leaders, and he hopes to emerge from the two days of meetings with even more, giving him momentum heading into the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses.

(AP)