Conservative Jews Look to Gamble on Ted Cruz

Katie Glueck writes in Poitico: 

LAS VEGAS — For once, Ted Cruz’s biggest problem isn’t Donald Trump.

As Cruz heads to the Republican Jewish Coalition’s spring meeting here, he’s about to encounter a group of donors that, in another cycle, would have already been enthusiastically committed to the likely Republican nominee. But this time around, many are burned out after having already supported multiple other candidates who didn’t last, and now they’re considering sitting out the primary entirely.

Cruz is going all out this weekend in an attempt to bring those Republicans off the sidelines, and RJC insiders say he has a real opportunity to do so. But first, they say, he’ll need to spell out a path to beating Trump — and being competitive in a general election — that convinces disillusioned donors and well-connected party activists to rally one more time, especially in a crowd where some see him as too hard-line.

“Ted has been powerfully supportive of Israel, and that’s been enticing to a lot of people here,” said Ari Fleischer, a White House press secretary for George W. Bush, who now serves on the RJC’s board. But, he continued, “Ted, by nature of the purity with which he approaches politics, has made his candidacy somewhat of a question mark for people here. So I think he has to deal with that. … It’s just a question mark over whether Ted practices such a pure version of politics that it’s too uncompromising.”

“Ted has been powerfully supportive of Israel, and that’s been enticing to a lot of people here,” said Ari Fleischer, a White House press secretary for George W. Bush, who now serves on the RJC’s board. But, he continued, “Ted, by nature of the purity with which he approaches politics, has made his candidacy somewhat of a question mark for people here. So I think he has to deal with that. … It’s just a question mark over whether Ted practices such a pure version of politics that it’s too uncompromising.”

You can read the rest of the story here.