|
 Cruz's more traditional campaign has struggled to compete with
Trump. The U.S. senator from Texas poured money into advertising,
staff and calls to voters, spending $5.6 million more in February
than he raised as he tried to outmaneuver Trump, according to
campaign finance records made public on Sunday.
But the effort had a limited impact as Trump took a commanding lead
in the delegate count for the Republican nomination while spending a
little more than half what Cruz did. The real estate mogul has
loaned his campaign more than $24 million since he entered the race
for the White House.
Now, with establishment Republican rivals Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio
out of the race, Cruz is trying to win votes and rake in money by
arguing the party should unite behind him if it hopes to defeat
Trump.
It's a tough proposition for a conservative candidate who has long
rankled the establishment wing of his party, including by leading a
fight over President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law that
led to a 16-day shutdown of the federal government.
 Cruz now hopes to convince his party that he, not Ohio Governor John
Kasich, the other Republican remaining in the race, is best poised
to defeat Trump and go on to the Nov. 8 presidential election.
In a sign of Cruz's warming ties with establishment Republicans,
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been a vocal critic
of Cruz, plans on Monday to hold a fundraiser for the senator from
Texas.
Charles Foster, a Houston immigration attorney who backed Bush until
he left the race in February, said Friday he is urging establishment
Republicans to line up behind Cruz.
"My pitch to them simplistically is that Trump is an existential
threat. He'd be a total disaster," Foster said.
"The only person that has a real chance," he added, "particularly
within the Republican primary base, which is conservative, far more
conservative than Kasich, is Ted." FREE MEDIA
Trump has a substantial lead in the Republican White House race,
though he remains far short of the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch
the nomination. It is unclear whether he will hit that number before
the July convention in Cleveland, but it would also be difficult for
either Cruz or Kasich to catch him.
[to top of second column] |
Cruz could pick up delegates in Utah, which holds its caucus on
Tuesday, and all of the candidates are expected to compete hard in
Wisconsin on April 5. But so far, efforts to stop the Trump
juggernaut have made little impression on voters.
In February, Cruz raised $11.9 million and spent $17.5 million,
leaving his campaign with $8 million when he woke up on Super
Tuesday. And despite the heavy spending, Cruz won just one state
that voted in February and three on the March 1 Super Tuesday
primaries.
In addition to self-funding his campaign, Trump has the advantage of
running an operation that leans heavily on free media exposure. In
February, Trump, raised $9.2 million, including a $6.9 million loan
he gave his own campaign, and spent $9.5 million.
Kasich raised $3.4 million in February and spent $3.6 million.
About half of Cruz's spending, or more than $8.7 million, was on
advertising. Cruz also allotted $2.6 million to traditional campaign
tactics like printing mailers, postage stamps and phone calls to
voters.
Cruz did spend a bit less than Trump on staff, recording $342,525 in
payroll costs in February to Trump's $370,973.
Jeff Roe, Cruz’s campaign manager, said on Twitter on Sunday the
campaign has enough cash to continue competing through June 7, the
last Republican primary day when hundreds of delegates are up for
grabs.
(Additional reporting by Grant Smith; Editing by Caren Bohan and
Mary Milliken)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
