To hell with the independents. That�s not usually the animating principle of a presidential campaign, but for Ted Cruz�s, it just might be.
His strategists aren�t planning to make a big play for so-called independent voters in the general election if Cruz wins the Republican nomination. According to several of the senator�s top advisers, Cruz sees a path to victory that relies instead on increasing conservative turnout; attracting votes from groups � including Jews, Hispanics, and Millennials � that have tended to favor Democrats; and, in the words of one Cruz strategist, �not getting killed with independents.�
Twenty-three months from the presidential election, it seems all but a given that the freshman senator, who has been in Congress just two years, will mount a bid for the White House. �He�s looking at the race very seriously,� says a senior adviser, who confirms that Cruz�s campaign headquarters would be based in Houston. Cruz strategists see a way to win both the nomination and the general election. They are assiduously cultivating the party�s top-dollar donors, almost all of whom remain uncommitted. Internally, the senator has shaken up his staff to address problems and to set the stage for a presidential bid. All that�s left, it seems, is an official announcement.
The only thing worse than a liberal is a liberal that thinks they're a conservative.
