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Ted Cruz Has Two Big Problems
National Review ^

Posted on 02/20/2016 10:43:13 PM PST by springwater13

72 percent.

That's the number of Republican voters in South Carolina's primary that identified as evangelical or born-again Christians, according to exit polling. That's an eye-popping, record-shattering figure: It was 65 percent in South Carolina's 2012 GOP primary, and 60 percent in 2008.

With three-quarters of the electorate identifying as evangelical, it was shaping up as a great night for Ted Cruz, who launched his campaign at Liberty University and has boasted of building a "firewall" to dominate the March 1 southern states because of their ultra-conservative, religious composition. South Carolina represented the first test of that theory.

Cruz failed. Among South Carolina's evangelical Republican voters, Trump won 33 percent, Cruz won 27 percent, and Rubio won 22 percent. And while Cruz did carry the 38 percent of "very conservative" voters in the state, it wasn't enough to finish anywhere close to Trump. Nor was it enough to beat Rubio, whom he finished roughly 1,000 votes behind.

This spells trouble for Cruz on Super Tuesday. He remains better-organized than any other candidate across the south (which should make a difference, considering both Trump and Rubio benefited from having impressive field operations in South Carolina). But there's no question Cruz's inability to carry the evangelical vote here portends poorly for him in states of similar ideological and demographic makeup.

That's a big problem for Cruz on March 1. But he faces even bigger challenges beyond then. Both Trump and Rubio performed evenly with non-evangelicals in South Carolina: Trump took 30 percent, and Rubio took 22 percent. But Cruz saw a significant drop-off, winning just 13 percent of that group. This echoes Cruz's performance in Iowa (33 percent with evangelicals, 19 percent with non-evangelicals) and New Hampshire (24 percent with evangelicals, 8 percent with non-evangelicals).

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Florida; US: Iowa; US: New Hampshire; US: New York; US: Ohio; US: South Carolina; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; bencarson; canadian; christianvote; cruz; election2016; florida; ineligible; iowa; jebbush; johnkasich; marcorubio; newhampshire; newyork; ohio; sc2016; southcarolina; tedcruz; texas; trump
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To: JediJones; All

Some of these fundamentalists have a thing against Catholics particularly the Pope. That story the MSM cojured up about the pope singling out Trump being a non christian may have turned this within that group.

But the pope never mentioned his name in his lengthy if actually one said, does, did, such and such response to a rather lenghty question by a so called reporter. As it was meant to be a generalized position applied to anyone who has those views.

If they voted that way because of that reason they were missled by the media not the pope


81 posted on 02/20/2016 11:52:20 PM PST by mosesdapoet (My best insights get lost in FR's becaus e of meaningless venting no one reads.)
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To: Mom MD

How silly. IF Democrats did vote, and no one knows how many that would have been -it makes just as much sense that they would vote for one of the establishment candidates. Your theory is pure crapola.


82 posted on 02/20/2016 11:53:02 PM PST by Catsrus (I callz 'em as I seez 'em)
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To: springwater13

1- He’s Ted Cruz
2- He’s not Donald Trump


83 posted on 02/20/2016 11:54:19 PM PST by Bobalu (I'm spitting on my hands, and hoisting the black flag!)
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To: Catsrus

Trump doesn’t believe in the Constitution, alright, hello Kelo. As for the economy, remember Donald Trump praising Barack Obama and his trillion dollar stimulus package or supporting bailouts. The businessman that presided over huge failures like Trump Shuttle, Trump Mortgage, GoTrump.com travel and of course his Atlantic City crash.


84 posted on 02/20/2016 11:54:30 PM PST by A Conservative Thinker (Ted Cruz 2016 - Trump in '04: "I probably identify more as Democrat")
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To: Reaper19

I suspect most Cruz voters are sane enough to realize the stakes at hand and would choose Trump over the alternatives (Rubio, Hillary). Trump at least has the right attitude towards some of the pressing issues of our time (immigration, trade, etc.) and is likely to act decisively on them.


85 posted on 02/20/2016 11:54:44 PM PST by Utmost Certainty (Our Enemy, the State)
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To: Catsrus

A roof over your head doesn’t mean much in a city if an EMP hits.

All of the candidates should be insisting that we mend the hole in our southern radar defense, now that North Korea and Iran have an EMP (or super EMP) capable bomb and have put at least one satellite into orbit apiece at the precise altitude and orbit to exploit that hole with an EMP attack.

Obama said in July of 2008 that he would be POTUS for “the next 8 to 10 years” - which would only happen if some catastrophe so big that it makes elections/inauguration impossible occurs at the end of his 2nd term. Obama’s been working for 7 years to get us this vulnerable, has said that Trump WILL NOT be POTUS (obviously, since Obama told us in 2008 that HE would be POTUS in 2017...), and plans to be in Cuba, Venezuela, and other communist South American countries “celebrating his accomplishments” in November and December this year. I think the plan has always been to have a North Korean and/or Iranian EMP hit, to keep any new POTUS from being elected and/or inaugurated, and then for the Islamist sleeper cells to take over the state capitols and then DC within the 2-year timeframe that Obama mentioned.


86 posted on 02/20/2016 11:55:45 PM PST by butterdezillion
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To: DB

On to Nevada and March 1st. Looks to be the same results.


87 posted on 02/20/2016 11:57:24 PM PST by Hugin ("First thing--get yourself a firearm!" Sheriff Ed Galt, Last Man St anding.)
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To: Reaper19

Welcome to Free Republic.


88 posted on 02/20/2016 11:57:30 PM PST by Piranha (Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have - Saul Alinsky)
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To: BlackFemaleArmyCaptain

You said the same thing I’ve been saying. He was using the Lord for his personal gain - not to win souls, and this is probably a big part of why Evangelicals didn’t vote for him. They saw through his tactics.


89 posted on 02/20/2016 11:57:40 PM PST by Catsrus (I callz 'em as I seez 'em)
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To: QuinqueViae

This is 2016. Old patterns don’t apply but Super Tuesday will settle matters.


90 posted on 02/20/2016 11:58:36 PM PST by A Conservative Thinker (Ted Cruz 2016 - Trump in '04: "I probably identify more as Democrat")
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To: butterdezillion

Oh my, Ben said no such thing. And, yes, bearing false witness is a sin - and you just committed it.


91 posted on 02/20/2016 11:58:39 PM PST by Catsrus (I callz 'em as I seez 'em)
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To: Yaelle
Reagan didn’t do so well his first time: most thought he was a joke. I’m sure Ted has learned a lot and will be back.

Yep. Reagan first ran for President in 1968, but did not do well in the early primaries and withdrew early and endorsed eventual winner Richard Nixon in 1968.

In 1976, battled incumbent Gerald Ford all the way to the convention and forced a brokered convention - neither winning the majority of delegates to secure the nomination. Eventually lost to the incumbent President Ford on the second ballot of the 1976 Republican Convention.

The third time was the charm - finally secured both the GOP nomination and the Presidency in 1980 at the young age of 69 after a vicious, hard fought primary campaign against George H.W. Bush!!!

92 posted on 02/20/2016 11:58:48 PM PST by dsm69 (Boycott News Media/Hollywood Advertisers)
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To: Catsrus

Or maybe evangelicals want to make America great again too.


93 posted on 02/20/2016 11:59:08 PM PST by Hugin ("First thing--get yourself a firearm!" Sheriff Ed Galt, Last Man St anding.)
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To: Piranha

You may be right. FR has a lot of trolls.

Ben Carson has played exactly the role that the GOPe wanted him to play.


94 posted on 02/20/2016 11:59:33 PM PST by butterdezillion
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To: map

I bet they did. This was Thad Cochran all over again.


95 posted on 02/20/2016 11:59:58 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: jonrick46

Silliness. Would a President not have the same issue if their grandparents or cousins or other relatives were in a foreign country?


96 posted on 02/21/2016 12:01:25 AM PST by JediJones (Trump 3/30/2011:"You have some great, productive [illegals] that came.You have to give them a path.")
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To: JediJones

I’ve got a dozen vidoes of Cruz flip flopping on issues too, so what’s your point? Do you seriously think the hot issues of this campaign are abortion and socialized medicine? Do you? Well, here’s a news flash for you - they aren’t. Trump has already said he is going to repeal obamacare. What more do you need? What part of that don’t you understand?


97 posted on 02/21/2016 12:01:54 AM PST by Catsrus (I callz 'em as I seez 'em)
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Comment #98 Removed by Moderator

To: Hugin

Very well good be.

Again, that’s why we have elections.


99 posted on 02/21/2016 12:02:31 AM PST by DB
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To: JediJones

Tons of states? There are only 50 at last count.


100 posted on 02/21/2016 12:03:01 AM PST by Catsrus (I callz 'em as I seez 'em)
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