CLEVELAND, OHIO – The consensus among Texas delegates to the Republican National Convention is that Sen. Ted Cruz hurt himself when he spoke at the meetings, but refused to endorse 2016 candidate Donald Trump.
They believe it will be very hard for him, if it is at all possible, to get funding or political support for another run at the GOP nomination for president in 2020 or 2024.
Or possibly even his effort to be re-elected to a second term in the U.S. Senate in 2018.
Some donors who spoke to WND said they probably would be unwilling to fund Cruz's political future.
It was after Cruz won the Texas primary that the 155 Texas delegates to the Republican Convention came to Cleveland very enthusiastic over their own senator.
Some two-thirds of the delegates were committed to voting for Cruz on the first ballot. The rest were going for Trump.
But then came the non-endorsement, and Cruz even doubled down the next morning by saying his pledge to support the eventual GOP candidate didn't go so far as to get support from him for someone who insulted his wife and father.
He stopped by a private lunch involving top GOP donors in a hotel close to Quicken Arena, where the convention was held, to lobby his case.
He pleaded that his goal was to reach beyond the convention floor to speak with conservatives across America, in an attempt to position himself as the leader of what he perceives as a continuing and strong conservative movement within the GOP.
Donors largely were unconvinced. They emphasized the importance of beating Hillary Clinton as a unifying theme now, asking Cruz repeatedly what Trump had to do specifically to win his endorsement.
Cruz declined to answer, responding only that in his speech he had made clear he joined the GOP in the conclusion that Hillary Clinton must be defeated.
The donors pressed Cruz, stressing that if he hoped to reverse the damage done by his speech, he would endorse promptly and directly.
They expressed worry Cruz was pursuing an unwise course of action, possibly even against the advice of the party, supporters and donors.
Delegates disappointed
"I'm a Cruz supporter and I am disappointed," Ken Cope a Texas delegate told WND in an exclusive interview on the convention floor.
"We were led to believe we were going to get from Cruz some kind of a statement of support for Trump, but we didn't get that," Cope continued, making it clear he was not pleased Cruz refrained from a direct endorsement of Trump.
"This doesn't need to be a distraction for us in the GOP and it won't be a distraction in Texas. We are getting over it," Cope stressed. "With or without Ted Cruz, we are focused on making sure we don't allow Hillary Clinton to get in the White House, or even anywhere near close to it."
"Hillary Clinton needs to go to the 'big house,' not the White House," he continued.
"We’re a broad party. 'Welcome Home to the Republican Party' is what our message needs to be. We need to be focusing on the real issues – jobs, women's rights, the security of our borders, economic development, and international security. Voters are concerned with how these issues affect their lives. We cannot afford four more years of the Obama administration under the title of Hillary. Our country will not survive that.
"From a distraction point of view, we're putting Cruz behind us, it's over and we’re going forward to win this election," he said. "We are moving forward with a strong Donald Trump-Mike Pence team with themes that will appeal to American voters and to conservatives with the party. Ted Cruz will have to repair the damage he did within the Texas GOP if he wants to have a chance running again for the Senate in 2018."
Dan Pickens, a Texas delegate committed to Cruz told WND he would not exactly say he was "unhappy" Cruz did not endorse Trump.
"I have worked in Ted's campaign for the Senate and I know him quite well," Pickens said. "It just would have been better if Ted had endorsed Donald."
WND asked Pickens if the relationship between Cruz and Trump could be patched up.
"I don't think it's going to matter in the long term at all," Pickens responded. "The people supporting Ted understand the consequences of voting for Hillary and they're going to vote for Donald any way you look at it, and they will work for Donald, as I will."
"I could easily have been a Texas delegate for Cruz, but I was not," Pickens continued. "I really don't know, but it could affect his chances of getting re-elected in Texas. Right now, I would say, there are some people in the delegation who are very unhappy with Ted but I think this thing is going to blow over. What I know is that the Texas delegation is unified in the need to get out the vote to defeat Hillary."
A few agreed with Cruz's actions.
"I didn't expect Ted Cruz to endorse Trump," Texas delegate Sandra Ziegler explained to WND. "If someone had spoken about my husband and family the way Donald Trump spoke about Cruz, I wouldn't endorse him either."
Ziegler identified with what she saw as Cruz's strategy to communicate with conservatives.
"What Cruz did was lost on a lot of people in this convention because they are so intent on all of us picking up the pompoms for Mr. Trump, is that Ted Cruz articulated a way forward for conservatives," she stressed.
"Cruz was speaking to conservatives all across the country," Ziegler said. "Cruz's audience was the people at home more than the people in this convention hall. It was a very brave thing for Ted Cruz to do."
Ziegler argued that Cruz's strategy will ultimately rebound to benefit Trump's presidential candidacy.
"He articulated a way for conservatives who feel like I do to support Trump even though we feel we cannot pick up the pompoms for Donald Trump the way we would normally for our Republican candidate," she said.
"Cruz suggested we could unite around ideas, and in his speech to the convention Cruz articulated those ideas," Ziegler insisted. "Cruz identified the planks of Mr. Trump's platform that he agrees with – the need to build a wall, the fact that the deal with Iran is a bad deal, the need to fight terrorism and keep people safe. Cruz did Trump a favor by giving conservatives a way to support the ideas Trump stands for, even if they can't support the man."
Dale Attebery, another Texas delegate, agreed with Ziegler.
"Ted Cruz can do no wrong in my mind," Attebery explained to WND. "My reaction is that Ted Cruz did pretty much what I would have done. Ted said he is not going to vote for Hillary Clinton, and that he is going to vote with the Republican ticket. So what is the problem?"
Attebery stressed there still is time.
“Not everything had to be done last night," Attebery continued. "We have all August, September, and October yet to go. There is plenty of time. Cruz can come out at any time he wants, with any endorsement he wants, but I would not have done any difference if my family had been attacked on a personal basis. I might have done more that Ted Cruz did."
Texas delegate John Bines was convinced Ted Cruz hurt himself, and the GOP.
"I'm hearing so many people saying how angry they are that Cruz won't just support the party now," Bines said. "Cruz is trying to make it sound like he is just so principled, but at this point there's only two choices for president and there is no reason for Cruz not to get behind Trump."
Texas delegate Donny Wisenbaker was also disappointed.
"I think Ted Cruz hurt himself within the Republican Party and within Texas," Wisenbaker told WND. "I would say there are probably 65 percent of us in the Texas delegation who think Cruz should have endorsed Trump. When Cruz spoke to the Texas delegation this morning, he was trying to spin it, but I don’t think the spin took. I know it didn't with me."
Wisenbaker identified himself as a Cruz supporter.
"I love the guy, Ted Cruz, and what Donald Trump did to him is beyond the pale," Wisenbaker insisted. "But at the same time, this election is greater than my family or my family. This election is about the heart and soul of America. All of us Republicans have to get in there and do whatever we can to prevent Hillary Clinton from being elected. That’s my opinion."
WND reported earlier about the blowtorch of criticism facing Cruz following his statements.
"Lying Ted is a treacherous turncoat," political consultant Roger Stone said in an instant message to WND after Cruz had been booed off the RNC stage in Cleveland.
Stone compared Cruz's refusal to endorse Trump to Nelson Rockefeller's 1964 refusal to endorse then GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater in a move that permanently damaged Rockefeller's presidential ambitions.
On Thursday, Cruz had been asked about his support for Trump, and his pledge to the GOP nominee.
"The day that became abrogated was the day that became personal," Cruz said. "I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you [attack] Heidi I'm going to nonetheless go like a servile puppy dog" and follow the pledge.
Trump tweeted that while Cruz "didn't honor the pledge," it also was "no big deal."
He said on Friday his campaign was not depending on Cruz's endorsement.