Trump can reach the independents and cross-overs that Cruz can’t.
That is a critical point! I live in a rust belt swing state. Most folks I talk to fit the Reagan Democrat profile. And most are excited about Trump. But no one talks about Cruz. Heck, few of them even know who Cruz is.
If anyone but Trump gets the GOP nomination, those folks will drift back to pulling the (D) level, just like their grandparents did.
Note that I'm making no argument about Trump's ideology. I'm just saying he's got lots of good mojo going for him in my neck of the woods.
Seems we’ve heard this before...
There is no such thing as a crossover Democrat. If they wanted to cross over, they’d have registered Republican by now. If Obama wasn’t enough to make them switch, no one else will be.
The only Republican candidate who can win is one who excites and energizes the Christian right conservative base. Reagan and Bush did it and won. Dole, McCain and Romney didn’t do it and lost.
We don’t see the Dummycraps trying to run a candidate who a big part of their base hates. You need to excite your base or you don’t have a campaign and can’t convince anyone else to come on board.