“Whacko Bird” (As McCain once referred to him) Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s popularity among Conservative Republicans continues to grow, as he travels around the country setting the groundwork for a possible 2016 Presidential run.
Cruz is visiting all of the early primary states, including Florida, where he has already a couple several times in 2014. Cruz recently spoke at the Palm Beach County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner, and to donors of the Ave Maria law school in Naples, Florida.There is no question that Cruz is peeling off support from Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who continues to struggle with grassroots conservatives, after stepping on an immigration landmine, when he co-sponsored the controversial and amnesty-lite Senate immigration reform bill in 2013.
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Rubio has lost considerable amount of support from his base of support in Florida, including some of his prominent grassroots activists and donors in the Jacksonville, Naples, Orlando, and Tampa areas, who are now looking to Cruz and Senator Rand Paul, as viable Republican presidential alternatives to Rubio in 2016.
Well, some are considering Paul, but most have moved over to Cruz.
Whether or not Rubio will be able overcome this loss of support, still remains to be seen. Rubio, who has already begun to back-peddle on his one-size-fits-all immigration bill, could bounce back, but only if he eventually comes out and states that he made a mistake in cosponsoring the Senate immigration bill.Rubio has been able to make inroads in the small, but growing Venezuelan and Colombian voting blocs, due to his opposition to the human rights violating Venezuelan regime of Nicholas Maduro.
Even if Rubio garners the Venezuelan support, which could help him muster up other Hispanic votes, it probably will not help him in Republican primary “mano-a-mano” against Ted Cruz.
If it comes down to it, and both Cruz and Rubio decided to run for the Republican Presidential nomination, bank on the fact that Cruz will hammer Rubio on immigration reform, even if Rubio completely backs away from his immigration bill.
Advantage Cruz, for now.
Oh, and let’s not forget that according to some “Constitutionalist birthers,” neither Rubio or Cruz are eligible to run for President.
