Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Ted Cruz Is Not Shaking in His Boots

Some Republicans want to see him face a Senate primary opponent in 2018. But Texas politics may get in the way.

August 9, 2016 at 2:48 PM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Don't mess with Texas politics.
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images

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Republicans are talking about support for a primary challenge to Ted Cruz when he runs for re-election in 2018. I suspect the Texas senator is not shaking in his boots.

Why not? After all, Republican party actors remain sharply split over him. A small number of movement conservatives consider him a hero, and his presidential run drew considerable support from Republican state legislators and from some party-aligned interest groups. But most everybody else -- especially those who have worked with him in Washington -- still appear vehemently opposed to him.