[Sir Napsalot]

I disagree with Barnes in that Cruz can afford to come in third or just simply top five in the early state primaries, as long as he's in the top tier. He could concentrate in those southern states that tend to be more friendly to him.

And I agree with Barnes that Cruz didn't sell himself well, the points Americans care most about (jobs and border security) he clearly couldn't compete with Trump.

As for Cruz's mistakes, one of them has got to be for voters to see him as 'just another typical politician' with process maneuvering, resulted in (Barnes' last paragraph) -

"By the way, Cruz's worst fear was realized in Indiana. He lost the bloc of "very" and "somewhat" conservative voters to Trump."

[Sir Napsalot]

BTW, I didn’t read the details of Cruz speech or his suspension of the campaign.

However, it will be THE smart thing for him to announce TODAY that he fully supports the Republican nominee and urge his supporters to do so likewise.

This may yet SAVE his political career.