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Ted Cruz Has Two Big Problems
National Review ^

Posted on 02/20/2016 10:43:13 PM PST by springwater13

72 percent.

That's the number of Republican voters in South Carolina's primary that identified as evangelical or born-again Christians, according to exit polling. That's an eye-popping, record-shattering figure: It was 65 percent in South Carolina's 2012 GOP primary, and 60 percent in 2008.

With three-quarters of the electorate identifying as evangelical, it was shaping up as a great night for Ted Cruz, who launched his campaign at Liberty University and has boasted of building a "firewall" to dominate the March 1 southern states because of their ultra-conservative, religious composition. South Carolina represented the first test of that theory.

Cruz failed. Among South Carolina's evangelical Republican voters, Trump won 33 percent, Cruz won 27 percent, and Rubio won 22 percent. And while Cruz did carry the 38 percent of "very conservative" voters in the state, it wasn't enough to finish anywhere close to Trump. Nor was it enough to beat Rubio, whom he finished roughly 1,000 votes behind.

This spells trouble for Cruz on Super Tuesday. He remains better-organized than any other candidate across the south (which should make a difference, considering both Trump and Rubio benefited from having impressive field operations in South Carolina). But there's no question Cruz's inability to carry the evangelical vote here portends poorly for him in states of similar ideological and demographic makeup.

That's a big problem for Cruz on March 1. But he faces even bigger challenges beyond then. Both Trump and Rubio performed evenly with non-evangelicals in South Carolina: Trump took 30 percent, and Rubio took 22 percent. But Cruz saw a significant drop-off, winning just 13 percent of that group. This echoes Cruz's performance in Iowa (33 percent with evangelicals, 19 percent with non-evangelicals) and New Hampshire (24 percent with evangelicals, 8 percent with non-evangelicals).

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Florida; US: Iowa; US: New Hampshire; US: New York; US: Ohio; US: South Carolina; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; bencarson; canadian; christianvote; cruz; election2016; florida; ineligible; iowa; jebbush; johnkasich; marcorubio; newhampshire; newyork; ohio; sc2016; southcarolina; tedcruz; texas; trump
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Comment #121 Removed by Moderator

To: Catsrus
I need Trump's replacement plan. So far it includes a mandate and universal coverage for everybody with it paid for by the government "food stamp-style."

I’ve got a dozen vidoes of Cruz flip flopping on issues too, so what’s your point?

No you don't. They don't exist.

122 posted on 02/21/2016 12:20:59 AM PST by JediJones (Trump 3/30/2011:"You have some great, productive [illegals] that came.You have to give them a path.")
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To: Vision Thing
A Conservative Emo

this guy?


123 posted on 02/21/2016 12:21:56 AM PST by Blue Highway
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To: abigkahuna

OK, seems like you might be talking about a correction that CNN made based on a tweet by Carson’s people. What time was that correction made in a CNN broadcast? The transcript that I just posted was from the broadcast at 6:43pm - 17 minutes before the caucuses were to start. Shortly after that the Cruz team reiterated the claim that Carson would not be campaigning in NH or SC but was taking a break after the IA caucus.

And Ben Carson never did campaign in NH or SC, as far as I know. I know his official campaign website had NOTHING listed for campaign events, anywhere. Not sure exactly what Carson thinks was the lie, since what the Cruz team said was true...


124 posted on 02/21/2016 12:22:00 AM PST by butterdezillion
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To: dead

My, oh my, what misinformation you’ve indulged in. Trump had 4 business bankruptcies, not personal ones. I’m just too tired to explain the difference to you. I know you are bitter that your guy lost last night, but,that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Trump also rose past his losses and that’s the reason he can pull our country out of this economic mess. You go through things in life for a reason.


125 posted on 02/21/2016 12:22:03 AM PST by Catsrus (I callz 'em as I seez 'em)
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To: QuinqueViae

Which means you’re voting on emotion for a guy you think is “strong.” We used to put more thought into our choices than a banana republic does.


126 posted on 02/21/2016 12:22:15 AM PST by JediJones (Trump 3/30/2011:"You have some great, productive [illegals] that came.You have to give them a path.")
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To: A Conservative Thinker

New screen name?


127 posted on 02/21/2016 12:23:05 AM PST by stillfree? (Aren't you wonky!)
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To: grey_whiskers

I see you didn't include myself in ping to that, and for that I do honestly thank you.

This part (quoted directly below, from the article) -- I dunno. I don't think it can be spun, not honestly.

How much that factor could be somehow overcome in the remainder of the primary elections, and then later in the general (if it came to that) is difficult to imagine.

Looks like Trump has a long term advantage in this, that would be tough to break.

My own best guess would be that Cruz could only erode that advantage to some unknowable extent --- in best of circumstances for himself. There's no guarantee there a "best" will surface. Does this sound honest, so far?

The "I don't like evangelicals" contingent has had that bias so well & widely nurtured within themselves (from within US cultural influences coming at the subject from many angles, relentlessly) the past few decades +, it is difficult to see (forecast) anything even approaching yuuge changes regarding that deeply rooted, powerful bias.

Yet worth examining, though remaining still difficult to accurately-for sure quantify;

How many ---who if having to decide between Cruz and the presumptive DNC candidate, and went for Cruz because they know well enough they can't stand the beast so would stick with a Republican nominees regardless -- even if it was Cruz, despite not liking nasal-sounding, kind-of dweeby moralists like Cruz personifies ---would be offset by non-evangelical, otherwise Republican leaning wymns who, not being able to choose the voting tool 'Dildos for Berny' against Cruz (Bern not being on the ballot) would vote based on their prejudices against evangelicals, and their own equipment au'naturale (thus cross-over to the Donkey Party)?

I'll flip you for it?

Or;

Pick a card, any card!

How in the hell did we ever get this low and desperate? Submit essay. Please keep it under 17 volumes and 37,890,000 words, please.

128 posted on 02/21/2016 12:24:04 AM PST by BlueDragon (TheHildbeast is so bad, purty near anybody should beat her. And that's saying something)
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To: JediJones

You didn’t listen carefully to what Trump actually said about a mandate - it had nothing to do with obamacare. And, I hate to inform you, but, yes, there are many videos of Cruz flip flopping on things - and YES they do exist. Just because you don’t want to believe that - doesn’t make it so.


129 posted on 02/21/2016 12:26:08 AM PST by Catsrus (I callz 'em as I seez 'em)
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To: butterdezillion

Yup, That is my recollection of the report. They did not report that Carson was dropping out of the race. I am not saying Cruz did anything wrong here. All I am saying is that there was no report that Carson was dropping out of the race. He did campaign in NH if one calls the debate campaigning. Same with SC.


130 posted on 02/21/2016 12:27:01 AM PST by abigkahuna (How can you be at two places at once when you are nowhere at all?)
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To: fireman15

he comes across as one of those phony televangelists and at best one of those establishment Republican types.


131 posted on 02/21/2016 12:31:14 AM PST by Blue Highway
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To: TigerClaws

Carson is polling ahead of Cruz in some upcoming states. Cruz looks like he “could” win Texas (he is up on Trump by 5), but he is in single digits in other states where Carson is in double digits.

Cruz could finish the race with a single win (Iowa), while Carson may outperform him overall. Cruz is starting to look like a Santorum or Huckabee, but without the national Evangelical support that they had.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/march1GOP.html


132 posted on 02/21/2016 12:32:55 AM PST by Bubba Gump Shrimp (noob)
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To: QuinqueViae

I read it perfectly. SC’s status changed last time and it doesn’t predict the nominee anymore.

What we know about NH is that it predicts general election losers, i.e. McCain and Romney.


133 posted on 02/21/2016 12:33:26 AM PST by JediJones (Trump 3/30/2011:"You have some great, productive [illegals] that came.You have to give them a path.")
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To: Catsrus

Your reply is nonsense. Donald Trump funded the Democrats takeover of Congress in 2006 giving us Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid that rammed through an awful lot of legislation that hurt us including the trillion dollar stimulus package that Trump praised. Your reasoning is fallacious. Then you turn to Ted Cruz ignoring his votes, his record and just delve off into a fantasy land that lumps him in with everyone else because your narrative doesn’t require facts or knowledge. You know Donald Trump had “some liberal views” (and the corollary that he’s never supported conservative causes) but that’s okay because he’s just a New Yorker that just discovered conservatism for the first time in his life and boy did he learn fast when he ran for President you can just pull off what Romney did by changing your position using a gullible base to run for President. Then we get this red herring that people must believe it their whole life when in fact it is pointing out that this individual didn’t learn anything beyond vaguely adopting positions like pro-life to get the base voters to hand him the nomination..its the establishment mentality. What’s sad is that conservatives have abandoned substance.


134 posted on 02/21/2016 12:34:14 AM PST by A Conservative Thinker (Ted Cruz 2016 - Trump in '04: "I probably identify more as Democrat")
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To: Catsrus

Living any part of your life as a liberal is sad.


135 posted on 02/21/2016 12:34:19 AM PST by JediJones (Trump 3/30/2011:"You have some great, productive [illegals] that came.You have to give them a path.")
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To: Blue Highway

Yes, exactly, and with the high-pitched whiny voice, too. :)


136 posted on 02/21/2016 12:35:55 AM PST by Vision Thing
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To: Windflier

Did you not pay attention to 2012? Santorum and Romney had a real race. Santorum won Iowa, lost the next 4 states, then won the next 3. The race was not wrapped up quickly for Romney. He had high negatives just like Trump.


137 posted on 02/21/2016 12:36:58 AM PST by JediJones (Trump 3/30/2011:"You have some great, productive [illegals] that came.You have to give them a path.")
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To: Catsrus

Trump would be absolutely terrible on the economy compared to Cruz. Trump’s economic plans are horrible socialism-lite and he has proposed no serious tax reform or entitlement reform.


138 posted on 02/21/2016 12:38:24 AM PST by JediJones (Trump 3/30/2011:"You have some great, productive [illegals] that came.You have to give them a path.")
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Comment #139 Removed by Moderator

To: QuinqueViae

I wasn’t talking about SC. SC is only one state. As more candidates drop out their support will go elsewhere. I guess we’ll have to wait and see where that support goes.


140 posted on 02/21/2016 12:40:09 AM PST by 1035rep
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