[don-o]

Is Beck a stealth Trump supporter or something? Cruz’s campaign will lose ground if it associates with Beck.

That is my gut instinct as well. But, my opinion of Beck is formed from my own dislike of him which is reinforced by the consensus of this board.

BUT, when I engage my brain, it is not 100% confident of my gut.

I do not know how the masses feel about Beck or how many even know who he is.

[Cboldt]

As an observation of my perception of reality (which has been known to be out of rig with the real thing), I don't think the association makes much difference. Cruz has bigger problems that are costing him support. Some people view Beck as a nutcase, most don't have a clue who he is, and some like what he has to say. If was going to quantify the "Beck Effect" just on intuition, I'd say it costs Cruz 0.1% in the polls. Not enough to make a difference. I don't think this will be a close race, but if it is a close race, Cruz won't be in the top two. Not because of Beck.