One thing they’re not taking into account is that Ted Cruz is a terrible politician. He just doesn’t have the personality for politics. I like him but beto would have no chance against a good politician.
You're talking about a guy who won his Senate seat twice - and the first win was a major upset as he was outspend 2.5:1. In the GOP Primaries for POTUS nomineee he won more party delegate votes than all the other non-nominees combined. That last factoid says a lot about him (he raised almost as much as Jeb did, won more delegates, stayed in the race a lot longer (e.g. he budgeted his money better) but 40% of what he raised was from small donors while Jeb got 90%+ from large donors) but this post is not about all that.
Hey, I get what you are saying. He's not slick. He's kinda nerdy and wonkish at times. He's not all that handsome if I can say so. He's not the typical politician. Neither is Rand Paul (though Rand is more polished than his father was).
But there is something to that, too. He can embrace that side of himself and make that a part of his appeal - fight on his battlefield which is one of principles, goals, ideals and policy. And by doing so with confidence the voters will look past it too. Truman was a total dweeb and he defeated Dewey, after all. Dewey was NY Governor, successful prosecutor, a slick politician who cracked down on the mob three decades before the Kennedy's did. But Truman took no guff and was very decisive, modest, but also projected confidence. Not to compare Truman to Cruz per se - Truman was a hard drinking, smoking, poker playing deal-making, pay-to-play backstabbing SOB (his era's version of Clinton, but not as slick nor as ego-motivated).
But, Truman "gave 'em hell" and the people went with him for it. In a way Cruz does the same. He really just sticks to the issues, doesn't make it or take it personal, and the voters go with him. Trump is similar, though Cruz is a lot more grounded by guiding principles while Trump is a lot more opportunistic and calculating. Both have their pros and cons. I dunno if Cruz could win the office of POTUS but he's done well given the superficial shortcomings.