[Wissa]

'Unlike many of the other candidates, I will be willing to spend the capital to ensure that every Supreme Court nominee that I put on the court is a principled judicial conservative," Cruz said.

What exactly does he mean by "willing to spend the capital"?

[jwalsh07]

It means he will go to the mats if necessary. Of course he would then be assaulted for “not being liked” by the liberal wing of the US Senate which numbers about 90.

[justlittleoleme]

What exactly does he mean by "willing to spend the capital"?

From a longer article that this article was sourced from:

Presidents Bush took the “easy way out” by picking Souter and Roberts, Cruz said. “They didn't want to spend the political capital trying to confirm a proven conservative.” As examples of principled conservative justices he'd model his nominees after, Cruz cited Scalia, Clarence Thomas, William Rehnquist, and Samuel Alito.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-12-02/ted-cruz-vows-to-put-hard-core-conservatives-on-the-supreme-court

[DannyTN]

By capital Cruz must mean his extremely good relations with the Senate which has to confirm any picks.
😇 sarcasm