Can Cruz win?
Question # 2.
The real question is, "Has the country gotten into enough government trouble for a Cruz to convince enough people to vote for him." When Reagan ran, the answer was clear. The 'Reagan Democrats' supported him in their millions.
Question # 3.
But 50 years later, there's another question. "Given the vast demographic change of the voting population, are there enough people around who can recognize how bad things have gotten under Obama?" Many new Democrat voters simply do not know better. They do not remember the difference between Carter and Reagan. They weren't here. Many cannot figure out how they would even live without government subsidy.
So maybe the answer to #1 is, "Yes. Cruz can win if there are enough voting people still around who are smart enough to become 'Cruz Democrats.'