Ted Cruz has been operating in a bubble.
The Texas senator has, according to most publications and pundits, run the dirtiest campaign of any of the other candidates this cycle.
While the candidate stands in front of banners that read “TrustTED” the public has been latching on to the brand of “liar” thanks to his own campaign gaffes, ads and statements that regularly bend and even break the truth.
The latest gaffe from today involves a fake endorsement for Cruz from popular South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy. Gowdy has not endorsed Cruz, yet the Cruz machine is posting the news all over Facebook.
The candidate’s actions have taken a toll.
In a poll released today by Quinnipiac, when asked if Ted Cruz is “honest and trustworthy” an average of 31% said “no.”
While the average is typically skewed by moderate and liberal responders, 23% of those who identified themselves as “Born Again/Evangelical” said they DON’T Trust Ted.
That’s a shocker.
Cruz, who has been increasingly running toward evangelicals with open arms as he quotes scripture and calls to “awaken the body of Christ” is not winning over his own supposed base.
Voters appear to see through the religious tone of Cruz’s campaign and see it as a desperate attempt to gain a voting block.
In the Quinnipiac poll, more evangelicals support Donald Trump than they do Ted Cruz. Thirty percent of evangelicals say they plan to vote for Trump, while 25% of evangelicals intend to vote for Cruz.
Trump actually locks down every demographic with voters across the spectrum – from philosophy to age and education – overwhelmingly support Trump.
For Cruz, as the number two contender to Trump, the news is disheartening and with only two states to go before Super Tuesday, the Canadian-born candidate has little hope to survive past March 1st.
In the latest national polls, Cruz dropped to third place behind Marco Rubio. Cruz has dropped another point to garner only 19% support, while Trump has gained 3.5 points in the same time period.
Given that Cruz is trailing by 16 points in South Carolina and an astounding 28 points in Nevada, the campaign is all but done if Bush, Rubio, Kasich and Carson fail to drop out before Super Tuesday.
But that still may not help the truth-defying candidate.
After Carson’s plummet in the polls, the neurosurgeon’s supporters split equally between Trump and Cruz as the anti-establishment alternatives.
While Trump dominates the polls and will likely win the remaining primary states with the exception of Texas, there is still hope for the other establishment candidates in the form of a brokered convention.
Rubio and Bush have already started their convention plans based upon a manipulated vote by Republican delegates.
Cruz however has no such hope as the candidate remains on the outs with the GOP establishment and its leaders.
Cruz consultants and insiders have been betting on a “Trump implosion” since the candidate entered the race, and the chances of a total meltdown by the billionaire grow less likely each day.
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