Where Ted Cruz Stands in Texas as He Takes the Stage in Cleveland

Amidst speculation about both his present intentions vis-a-vis Donald Trump and his future plans, Sen. Ted Cruz will address the Republican National Convention tonight in Cleveland. It’s widely assumed that the junior Senator from Texas has emerged from the 2016 GOP primary race as one of the surest undeclared candidates for the 2020 GOP presidential nomination (in the event that Donald Trump does not win the election, and maybe even if he does). In the interim, however, Cruz will return to the Senate to represent the state that nurtured his development as a conservative standard bearer and trenchant critic of all things Washington D.C.  Cruz remains a very popular figure among the Republican base in Texas, though the last year of national political exposure has caused a dip in his numbers. This phenomenon doesn’t surprise much: as the last man standing in the Trump-led ultimate fight of a GOP presidential primary, Cruz was bound to both take some sharp blows and to be forced to expose some weaknesses. In any event, there will be plenty of time to regain any lost luster, whether those efforts take place under a President Trump or a President Clinton.

In the more immediate run, despite the throaty support for Cruz from the Texas delegation, the June 2016 University of Texas / Texas Politics Project Poll found that of those who professed to have supported Cruz in the March primary, 69 percent said they would vote for Trump in the general election; only 2 percent said they would vote for Clinton, 22 percent said they would vote for “someone else,” and 7 percent didn’t know. For now, Cruz supporters largely have accepted Trump at the top of the ticket, but for a wide swath of the Texas GOP this is an arranged marriage facilitated by the depth of their partisanship and their intense dislike for Hillary Clinton. Their real passion lies elsewhere, and their preferred suitor waits in the wings.

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FavorableUnfavorableNeither/Don't Know
May 201223%19%58%
October 201237%26%37%
February 201339%28%33%
June 201340%31%30%
October 201338%37%24%
February 201443%37%20%
June 201446%34%21%
October 201444%36%19%
February 201541%36%22%
June 201540%37%23%
November 201541%38%20%
February 201636%48%18%
June 201631%48%21%
October 201632%49%19%
June 201737%45%18%
October 201738%45%17%
February 201840%42%18%
June 201841%42%17%
October 201847%42%12%
June 202344%43%12%
December 202344%42%15%
February 202444%41%15%
April 202447%40%14%
June 202444%44%11%
August 202445%45%11%
October 202445%41%14%

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FavorableUnfavorableNeither/Don't Know
May 201238%15%45%
October 201267%6%26%
February 201367%7%26%
June 201370%7%24%
October 201367%12%21%
February 201473%12%15%
June 201480%9%12%
October 201476%9%15%
February 201571%11%19%
June 201567%14%20%
November 201571%15%15%
February 201664%25%12%
June 201655%27%18%
October 201660%24%16%
June 201768%15%18%
October 201766%19%15%
February 201870%14%16%
June 201876%10%14%
October 201886%7%6%
June 202377%12%12%
December 202375%12%13%
February 202473%12%14%
April 202479%11%9%
June 202477%12%11%
August 202479%10%11%
October 202476%10%13%

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FavorableUnfavorableNeither/Don't Know
May 201242%16%42%
October 201269%10%22%
February 201366%9%25%
June 201369%5%25%
October 201367%15%17%
February 201475%13%12%
June 201478%10%13%
October 201475%12%13%
February 201569%15%16%
June 201567%14%19%
November 201571%15%14%
February 201664%23%13%
June 201655%27%18%
October 201658%27%14%
June 201767%18%15%
October 201767%19%13%
February 201869%18%14%
June 201875%14%13%
October 201879%12%9%
June 202374%16%9%
December 202373%14%14%
February 202474%14%13%
April 202478%14%8%
June 202476%15%9%
August 202477%14%10%
October 202474%13%13%

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FavorableUnfavorableNeither/Don't Know
May 201251%14%35%
October 201277%5%20%
February 201385%3%7%
June 201388%3%10%
October 201392%2%5%
February 201486%3%10%
June 201493%1%6%
October 201488%2%10%
February 201590%5%6%
June 201582%8%10%
November 201589%5%6%
February 201678%11%11%
June 201670%13%17%
October 201672%17%10%
June 201787%5%7%
October 201779%13%7%
February 201876%16%9%
June 201884%11%5%
October 201887%10%3%

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categorycolumn-1
Approve strongly18%
Approve somewhat17%
Neither approve nor disapprove13%
Disapprove somewhat12%
Disapprove strongly31%
Don't know9%

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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Approve strongly1%11%36%
Approve somewhat9%12%24%
Neither approve nor disapprove12%20%12%
Disapprove somewhat11%13%13%
Disapprove strongly59%38%8%
Don't know7%6%8%

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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
Approve strongly13%42%50%
Approve somewhat33%23%16%
Neither approve nor disapprove17%10%13%
Disapprove somewhat13%11%8%
Disapprove strongly14%9%7%
Don't know10%5%6%

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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
Approve strongly1%24%56%
Approve somewhat8%27%16%
Neither approve nor disapprove9%16%12%
Disapprove somewhat11%15%6%
Disapprove strongly65%12%7%
Don't know7%6%2%

Keywords: ted cruz