That seems to be an advantage this time. Who is going to be there to split the conservative vote from Cruz? I know Rand will be in there just like Ron was, but it seemed like the real split in the primary was between Gingrich and Santorum. I don’t think the social conservatives will go with Santorum over Cruz, especially when you look at the Christian causes Cruz has fought for in court in his pre-Senate career. And it seems Cruz will get all the thunder from articulating conservative principles well in the debates that Gingrich did. So it should be a pretty solid one-on-one battle between Cruz and Christie from the start, with Rand peeling off the usual supply of kooky voters who want Iran to get nukes.
Whether Cruz can survive the non-stop onslaught of Drudge, FOX, and “conservative” commentators saying Christie is the most “electable” one is another story. What we can’t have is the true conservatives withholding their endorsements until the last minute or after Iowa. Gingrich’s endorsements came way too late last time.
My bet is that Santorum will be endorsing Cruz once it is clear he is the conservative choice. I respect Rick Santorum. He was our district’s congressman before he was elected to the U.S. Senate.