But it’s possible their view is skewed by having worked with the guy. Cruz, who infamously did not come to Washington to make friends, has not won endorsements from his colleagues in the Senate. “Mainstream elected Republicans now see Cruz as a bigger threat than Donald Trump or Ben Carson to clinch the nomination—but equally damaging to their party’s chances of winning the White House and keeping the Senate next fall,” Politico reports. So many are backing Cruz’s rival in the Senate, Marco Rubio.
Cruz has publicly explained that his campaign strategy is to unite three “lanes” of GOP voters: evangelicals, libertarians, and tea partiers. But Republican Senator Dan Coates is openly skeptical, saying of Cruz’s attempt to find a middle ground on national security between libertarians and hawks: “I don’t think you can split that baby.” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and Senator John Thune also hinted Rubio was the better pick. But many GOP senators won’t endorse Rubio while Senator Lindsey Graham is in the race. For now, it seems, they’re sticking to an un-endorsement of Cruz.