I’m not trying to argue with you, I’m just clarifying what I was trying to say:
You described your daughters as “mildly Conservative.” Personally, I don’t consider that to be “Moderate.”
To me, a Moderate is someone who considers themselves to be Moderate, or Independent. Not someone who considers themselves to be Conservative, or who would be described as Conservative to any degree, whether it be mildly or majorly.
I’m talking about fence-sitters. People who register as Independents. People who don’t vote in Primaries at all because they don’t lean far enough Left OR Right. They don’t have a horse in the race. Those are people that I am calling Moderate/Independent.
From your description, your daughters would be in the Conservative camp. And certainly there is a portion of the Conservative camp that prefers Cruz.
And of course the entire Left hates Trump. So the way I see it, in gross generalizations: 33% Left = hate Trump and will never vote Trump. 33% Right = will vote for whomever is the Republican nominee. And 33% Moderate = COULD vote for Trump, but would never vote for Cruz. Again, these are gross generalizations, and just my opinion.
I accept your definition, but the fact remains, “moderates,” middle-of-the roaders, the indecisive ones, have an aversion to hostility in politics, which is what Donald has taken to a whole new level. They worry about him being an embryonic dictator especially as they see his principles are in constant flux, changeable in the extreme, often taking contradicting positions in the same debate. The only constant is the bombast and personal attacks, he is truly a most unusual marvel in that category.
Some say that one-on-one he is charming and personable, I have no idea, I have only seen his stage presence, which is an entertaining abomination. He looks like the poster boy for snotty rich kids who grew up in daddy’s limousine and thinks of anyone who disagrees as subhuman. I would say “maybe it’s just me,” but it isn’t. It’s lots and lots of folks from every spectrum, especially from the squishy middle.