Ted Cruz appears to be the best positioned Republican candidate running for president in 2016, Federalist publisher Ben Domenech said on MSNBC on Saturday.
“[Cruz] appeals to the base in a very strong way,” he said. “He has the second most small-dollar donations and he also appeals to the party elites.”
Cruz’s cross appeal among both grassroots conservatives and the GOP establishment is reflected in his campaign donations, he said.
“He has the second most money overall and he’s very intentional about the way he’s approached this campaign,” Domenech, said.
Cruz raised $12.2 million in the last quarter, second only to Ben Cason who raised $20.8 million, and he has more total cash on hand ($13.8 million) than any other Republican presidential candidate.
Since Cruz has been able to lock up both small-dollar sources of funding from the grassroots of the conservative party and a rank-in-file donors from the base, he appears the best suited to secure the nomination, according to National Review.
Last week, Jeb Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, unloaded on Cruz, calling him opportunistic.
Cruz responded in interview with Bloomberg Politics that Bush’s comments “shouldn’t surprise anyone” and that he is attacking candidates whom he sees as a “real threat” to his brother’s campaign.
“I think in this case it bothers George W. Bush who looks at this scenario, who looks at this party, and sees it being tugged far more in the direction of what Ted Cruz thinks it ought to be than the way he thought it ought to be,” Domenech said.
