Primary voting in Southern states on Tuesday could be catastrophic for Sen. Ted Cruz’s chances of winning the Republican nomination.
Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio appear to have overshadowed the Texas senator in many of the states he had hoped to carry. For example, in Alabama, Trump currently holds a 24-point lead over Cruz, and Rubio comes in at second place with a five-point lead on Cruz.
Back in December, Cruz was very optimistic about his chances in the March 1 primary states. “We are … very well positioned to do incredibly well on March 1,” the Dallas Morning News reported him telling volunteers. “You look at the states in that SEC primary — Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the great state of Texas — you couldn’t color a better map in terms of strong conservative, Southern Baptist, evangelical, veteran, gun-owning, God-loving states.”
Super Tuesday has come to be known as the “SEC Primary” because five of the 12 states involved have collegiate teams that participate in the South Eastern Conference (SEC). However, despite his expected popularity with Southern voters, Cruz has slowly been losing momentum since his third place finish in the South Carolina primary.
Cruz appeared to give up on winning Alabama when he pulled out of a presidential forum held on Saturday at Samford University in Birmingham, leaving Rubio to host the event alone.
“Decisions like this are difficult for any campaign to make, but they have to do what they think is best,” said Yellowhammer CEO Cliff Sims, who hosted the forum. “Once a campaign goes into survival mode, sometimes they have to cut their losses and move resources where they can be most effective. A candidate’s time is the most valuable resource any campaign has.”
The “three-man race” that Rubio described does not seem to apply to Alabama. After securing the endorsement of Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump seems to be growing on Alabama voters.
Braxton George, a freshman at the University of Alabama, said that he would vote for Trump because the businessman would “get stuff done a lot quicker in this country.” Other students, however, are singing a different tune.
Mike Smith, a junior at the university, said he would be voting for Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday. “[Sanders] has a proven track record on progressive issues,” he said. “I believe his economic plans will push our country in the right direction: away from capitalism for the few, and towards capitalism for the many.”
Meanwhile, Junior Alex Kirkland said he plans to vote for Rubio for religious reasons. Kirkland said that Rubio comes across as a true Christian who will stand by his religious beliefs.
With varying opinions as evidenced above, it will be interesting to see who wins the millennial vote on either side. However, unless Alabama polling is as inaccurate as polling was in Iowa, Tuesday’s race will likely give Trump another win.
