Ask activists in the anti-Donald Trump movement about Tuesday’s primary in Indiana and they admit it’s probably Ted Cruz’s last realistic chance to stop the New York businessman.
“If Cruz wins Indiana, he suddenly becomes a scrappy underdog who stays alive when so-called experts said he wouldn’t,” one person affiliated with Conservatives Against Trump, a group made up of conservative activists and thought leaders, told The Daily Caller.
Individual members of the group commissioned an ad in Indiana being run by strategist Liz Mair’s Make America Awesome super PAC, the source said.
The low-production value ad — which uses Mair’s voice — is being run digitally as a YouTube pre-roll. Mair said Friday the “ad buy is not much” but they hope to run it on television during reality TV shows.
The ad is meant to target potential supporters of John Kasich, who announced last week he would not devote any more resources to Indiana, to help Cruz try to take on Trump there.
“We see a real chance for Cruz to win Indiana when Kasich voters realize Trump is an absolutely unacceptable option,” the source inside Conservatives Against Trump said.
The ad accuses Trump of “hiding so much,” referencing how he has not released his tax returns. “For a guy in the spotlight, Trump sure hides a lot,” the ad says. “Guess I’ll vote for the guy from Texas.”
Of the public polls, Trump leads most in Indiana. According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Trump leads Cruz by 7.8 percent. Fifty-seven delegates are up for grabs in the state where delegates are awarded winner-take all statewide and by congressional district.
Cruz is hoping the events of last week help him in the state – he announced Carly Fiorina as his running mate and then was endorsed by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
Should Trump win Indiana, the path will be easier to reach the 1,237 delegate threshold to win the nomination outright and avoid a contested convention.
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