That's one reason why Cruz isn't even on the horizon.
Vetted, not only by prior confirmation, but by the victory of Trump in the presidential election after he listed them as possible SCOTUS nominees.The senate majority in 2016 took the position that the presidential election in November would determine the nominee to replace Scalia. They should, as I noted before the start of the current Congress, have advised Trump that the Senate would vote on whether it would consent to his SCOTUS nominee(s) provided they were on the list he published long before election day.