Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) may have lost the presidential nomination this year, but that doesn’t mean that conservative leaders have given up hope for him as the leader of the free world.
In the shadow of Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for 2016, 20 key leaders met in secret to discuss what is next for Ted Cruz.
According to The Hill, no one would speak on the record about what was discussed, but sources say the leaders met to discuss how to position Cruz for the 2020 nomination. Those same sources say that NRA board member Ken Blackwell, Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, Heritage Foundation leader Jim DeMint, and Club for Growth President David McIntosh were among those in attendance.
Comparisons to Reagan and his failed 1976 and successful 1980 run were the theme for the night.
The super secret dinner was held at the home of activist Brent Bozell who would not confirm details of conversations but did share at least this much.
“There was just discussion of the future of the movement and the future of Ted Cruz as the leader of the movement,” Bozell told The Hill.
“There are a lot of similarities with Reagan in ’76, where Reagan came very close and then in ’80 won the presidency,” he said.
There is tremendous dislike of Cruz within the GOP, but he remains a favorite among conservatives. Something McIntosh was also willing to discuss with a reporter from The Hill.
“I think [Cruz] earned the position of being the leader of the conservative movement in terms of an elected official,” McIntosh told The Hill on Wednesday.
“Talking to him … I think he’s thinking about how to do that and ready to step into that leadership role,” he added, saying he wouldn’t get into private conversations had at the dinner.
“I’m a huge Ronald Reagan fan so the analogy I used with Ted is, ‘You’re Ronald Reagan in 1977 and you’ve got a choice: Are you going to take on the leadership of the movement?’ ”
Featured image by Gage Skidmore, Flickr via Creative Commons
