After Poll Surge, Ted Cruz is Still Below His 2013 GOP Primary Numbers

The headlines confirm that Texas Senator Ted Cruz had a campaign launch to dream of. "Cruz Surges Following Candidacy Announcement." "Cruz Rockets to Third in New Poll." "Cruz in 'Top Tier' of White House Hopefuls." A Public Policy Polling survey has Cruz leaping from 5 percent to 16 percent support in the primary; a Fox News poll has Cruz moving up from 4 percent to 10 percent; the Washington Post/ABC News poll has him rising from 8 percent to 12 percent.

Cruz could honestly say that the pundits had bet against him. He's frequently quoted from a hypothesis-heavy New York Times analysis of his chances, which judged that his lack of support from party "elites" and single-digit poll numbers basically ruled him out of contention.