In the conversation with the donor, Cruz was asked if gay marriage was a top-three priority for him and he said it wasn't. In a recording provided to POLITICO, Cruz answers a flat "No" when asked whether fighting gay marriage is a "top-three priority", an answer that pleased his socially moderate hosts but could surprise some of his evangelical backers. By late summer, she said, the River Valley Teenage Republicans were a grassroots advocacy group working to put Cruz over the top.