PolitiFact : Cruz touts his ` town halls , ' but were they really ? 
Ted Cruz
Fellinger pointed us to video posts of the CVA events showing that Cruz each time took questions via a moderator , who recognized a few individuals to speak directly to Cruz . 
But could it be that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz does n't get personally grilled by constituents very often ? 
Cruz , poised to seek re-election as Texas ' junior Republican senator in 2018 , hardly has a reputation for avoiding attention . 
A Concerned Veterans for America spokesman , Jim Fellinger , told us each CVA event with Cruz was open to the public by registration , without the group screening out anybody who registered . 
Regardless , the Houston lawyer was told during the 2017 Texas Tribune Festival about a Democratic challenger 's suggestion that Cruz had n't visited small Texas towns during the term he won in 2012 . 
"Do you do enough interaction with your constituents , Sen. Cruz ?" 
Cruz , asked if he interacts enough with constituents , said : "In 2017 , I 've done 17 town halls" in Texas . 
Cruz replied : "That is a huge part of the job . 
The events Cruz attended from April through August demonstrate that the term "town hall" can be stretched every which way , even to events not open to the public . 
All told , it looks to us as if Cruz took questions at gatherings of selected constituents , mostly business employees , with the three veterans events open to members of the public who registered . 
We wondered about that , finding that Cruz 's count largely turned on one 's definition of "town hall ." 
Next , we spoke with several experts about whether Cruz 's events should be considered town halls . 
A town hall , Cruz spokesman Phil Novack told us , is defined by Merriam-Webster as "an event at which a public official or political candidate addresses an audience by answering questions posed by individual members ." 
We also asked Novack to share a list of Cruz 's 2017 events in Texas that were open to the public without registration -- where anyone could ask a question on any topic . 
Ted Cruz Statement : "In 2017 , I 've done 17 town halls ." 
It seems these town halls are open only to the people from the sections of ` town ' that support Ted Cruz . 
Novack told us Cruz had held 19 town halls with Texas constituents in 2017 , all "organized by third parties who determined attendees , where" the senator "has taken unvetted questions from anyone in the crowd -- at businesses , factories , chambers of commerce , and in public venues ."
Fellinger pointed us to video posts of the CVA events showing that [TGT] each time took questions via a moderator , who recognized a few individuals to speak directly to [TGT] . 
But could it be that [TGT] does n't get personally grilled by constituents very often ? 
[TGT] , poised to seek re-election as Texas ' junior Republican senator in 2018 , hardly has a reputation for avoiding attention . 
A Concerned Veterans for America spokesman , Jim Fellinger , told us each CVA event with [TGT] was open to the public by registration , without the group screening out anybody who registered . 
Regardless , the Houston lawyer was told during the 2017 Texas Tribune Festival about a Democratic challenger 's suggestion that [TGT] had n't visited small Texas towns during the term he won in 2012 . 
"Do you do enough interaction with your constituents , [TGT] ?" 
[TGT] , asked if [TGT] interacts enough with constituents , said : "In 2017 , I 've done 17 town halls" in Texas . 
[TGT] replied : "That is a huge part of the job . 
The events [TGT] attended from April through August demonstrate that the term "town hall" can be stretched every which way , even to events not open to the public . 
All told , it looks to us as if [TGT] took questions at gatherings of selected constituents , mostly business employees , with the three veterans events open to members of the public who registered . 
We wondered about that , finding that [TGT] 's count largely turned on one 's definition of "town hall ." 
Next , we spoke with several experts about whether [TGT] 's events should be considered town halls . 
A town hall , [TGT] spokesman Phil Novack told us , is defined by Merriam-Webster as "an event at which a public official or political candidate addresses an audience by answering questions posed by individual members ." 
We also asked Novack to share a list of [TGT] 's 2017 events in Texas that were open to the public without registration -- where anyone could ask a question on any topic . 
[TGT] Statement : "In 2017 , I 've done 17 town halls ." 
It seems these town halls are open only to the people from the sections of ` town ' that support [TGT] . 
Novack told us [TGT] had held 19 town halls with Texas constituents in 2017 , all "organized by third parties who determined attendees , where" the senator "has taken unvetted questions from anyone in the crowd -- at businesses , factories , chambers of commerce , and in public venues ."