Thread: It's Cruz! Texas senator tops GOP presidential preference poll following epic Senate

Mail Online
9/27/2013
By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor

Losers: The poll found a large 'trust' gap between Cruz and both Arizona Sen. John McCain and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader

It's Cruz! Texas senator tops GOP presidential preference poll following epic Senate stand against Obamacare funding

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the tea party darling who staged an unsuccessful 21-hour-long quasi-filibuster this week opposing government funding for The Affordable Care Act, has emerged as Republican voters' top pick for the 2016 presidential nomination, according to a poll released Friday.

The Public Policy Polling survey found that 20 per cent of Republicans favor Cruz, followed by 17 per cent for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, 14 per cent for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 11 per cent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and 10 per cent each for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan
Louisians Gov. Bobby Jindal polled 4 per cent. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum brought up the rear, with 3 per cent support each. Nine per cent said they supported someone else, or had no opinion.

The results show that a majority of GOP voters who have a preference – 47 per cent overall – want to see a tea party-linked candidate as their party's standard-bearer in 2016.

And significant majorities said they trust Cruz more than either Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell or Arizona Sen. John McCain, two moderates who have resisted conservatives' efforts to tie a new budget resolution to the defunding of Obamacare. They also trust Cruz more than House Speaker John Boehner.

That effort suffered what may be a fatal setback on Friday, as more than half of Republican senators voted to end debate on a House budget resolution and move forward to strip the defunding language out before sending it back to the House.


Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who once had a libertarian wind at his back, is now chasing Cruz for the hearts and minds of constitutional purists and conservative ideologues




New Jersey Gov, Chris Christie is the favorite among self-described 'liberal' Republican voters, picking up their support after he embraced help from President Obama when Superstorm Sandy struck last year

Republicans in the poll said they trust Cruz more than McConnell by a 49-13 margin; more than Boehner by a 51-20 margin; and more than McCain by a more modest but still significant 52-31 split.
'Ted Cruz this week established himself as the grassroots hero of the Republican Party,' Public Policy Polling president Dean Debnam said Friday. 'The party base has a lot more faith in him than their more official leaders.'

More...

• Canadian-born senator Ted Cruz questioned about eligibility to run for president in 2016
• Poll: Obama's approval rating drops SIX points in September to 43 per cent, as he struggles to defend the Obamacare law supported by just 39 per cent of Americans
• 'A big waste of time!': Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid lowers the boom on Ted Cruz marathon speech after 21 HOURS

Cruz's star has been on the rise as he has seized the tea party mantle and worked to marginalize the Obamacare health insurance scheme with voters on the political right.

PPP said support for Cruz's presidential candidacy has jumped by 8 percentage points since July. He won the backing of 34 per cent of self-described 'very conservative' voters in the poll, twice what Rand Paul earned.

Combining that group with those who said they are 'somewhat conservative,' Cruz's lead opens up significantly. In the all-conservative category, he won support from 47 per cent.




Sen. Marco Rubio helped out with Cruz's anti-Obamacare marathon, but finished in a distant fifth place




Losers: The poll found a large 'trust' gap between Cruz and both Arizona Sen. John McCain (L) and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), the Senate Minority Leader

Sen. Paul's support, by contrast, comes from a more centrist bloc. Fully 21 per cent of those who said they were 'somewhat liberal' supported him, the same number that went for Jeb Bush and two points higher than Chris Christie earned.
Christie was the clear winner among 'very liberal' Republicans, winning 38 per cent of them over.

Cruz, however, also collected support from 32 per cent of the GOP's far left wing, suggesting a broader appeal than the tea party alone.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...e-funding.html

That's Not hard for Cruz to do.... the GOP is a Mess... look at the competition and to beat it all the GOP has poo for brains and noodles for a back bone

http://www.alipac.us/f9/chris-christ...-fight-288291/





New Jersey Gov, Chris Christie is the favorite among self-described 'liberal' Republican voters, picking up their support after he embraced help from President Obama when Superstorm Sandy struck last year

http://www.alipac.us/f9/republican-d...d-cruz-288669/

http://www.alipac.us/f9/john-mccains...-earth-287302/

http://www.alipac.us/f9/what-ted-cru...3/#post1370370

Norquist Accuses Ted Cruz of Abandoning House Republicans