Far from Washington and among his strongest supporters, Ted Cruz recently enjoyed plenty of tea party-inspired love in South Carolina, a crucial presidential primary state,
Politico reported.
Mobbed for hugs like a rock star, Cruz outshone other GOP well-knowns including Ben Carson and Rick Santorum, as he made the rounds at a state Tea Party Coalition Convention, Politico noted of his ongoing star appeal.
"He is a man who has dedicated his public service to making sure government listens to the American people," Maria Strollo Zack told Politico of his strengths as a possible presidential candidate.
She has created her own super PAC, Stand for Principle, geared at getting the Texas senator to run for the White House.
"He's not going to be bullied, he's not going to be told to sit down and shut up," she enthused.
Cruz has not yet said if indeed he will seek higher office. But he acknowledged to Politico that his tent would have to be wide and not simply focused on one group, even as he seems a certain draw for Constitution-thumping conservatives eager for someone without a mushy message.
"For any Republican to win the nomination, you have to be able to bring together a broad coalition," Cruz told Politico. "You have to be a full-spectrum conservative."
Cruz has been quickly critical of at least one other possible candidate,
telling NBC News that conservatives will not show up if Mitt Romney makes yet another bid.
"If we nominate another candidate in the mold of a Bob Dole, John McCain or Mitt Romney ... the same people who stayed home in '08 an '12 will stay home in '16 and the Democrat will win again," Cruz said, according to NBC.
Some question Cruz's ability to position himself as ready to take on the highest office in the land, even as he has emerged as a strong force for the party's base,
Reason reported, noting his contrasts as either "loose cannon or Libertarian reformer."
Noted Reason of his possibilities moving ahead: "Can a wacko bird be crazy like a fox?"
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