His cordial and sympathetic tone towards Trump contrasted with the more critical approach of rivals such as Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul.

In late April, while trailing Trump heavily in the delegate count, Cruz announced that his vice presidential running mate would be former-candidate Carly Fiorina.

[14] Cruz spoke at events in the summer of 2013 across Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, early primary states, leading to speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a run for President in 2016.

[27][28] Cruz called on the audience to imagine a president repealing the Affordable Care Act and supporting Israel, economic growth, border security while allowing legal immigration, a flat tax and the abolition of the IRS.

[31][32] Cruz was believed to have initiated a long shot presidential bid, commentators referring to him as having no chance of winning the nomination, much less the general election, due to what was perceived as his lack of likability.

[43] On June 18, the day after the Charleston church shooting, Cruz gave a speech empathizing with the lost lives and led onlookers in a moment of silence.

[60] Cruz debunked fellow presidential candidate Ben Carson's claim that a Muslim should not serve as president, saying, "The Constitution specifies there shall be no religious test for public office, and I'm a constitutionalist.

Cruz's performance was well-received, as he had "effectively articulated" his strategy of being the second choice for voters, enough of which would give him "the broadest base of support left when the dust clears.

[67] In a Quinnipiac University poll, noted by Fox News as having been taken after the CNBC debate, Cruz came in fourth place at 13%, behind the two aforementioned candidates and Marco Rubio.

[85][86][87][88] On December 15, Cruz participated in the second CNN Republican debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, the fifth overall of the election cycle, his overall performance being seen as strong and some commentators dubbing him the winner of the event.

[101] Cruz was a participant in the second Fox Business debate on January 14, defending himself against the accusations of possible issues resulting from his birth in Canada while also indicating that the controversy was generated by his opponents due to his rise in the polls in the last few months as well as his senate record.

[109] Cruz's opposition to ethanol led Iowa's governor, Terry Branstad to publicly express disapproval of him on January 19, arguing that his win would be at the expense of jobs for Iowans and reduce income for farms.

[119][120][121][122] February 9's New Hampshire primary, barely a week later, did not provide shocks; Cruz finished with 12% of the vote, behind Trump and Kasich, and ahead of Bush and Rubio.

The mailing envelopes were designed to appear to originate from an election authority, with large wording announcing "VOTER VIOLATION" on the exterior in a bold red box.

[132] At the New Hampshire ABC debate Donald Trump accused the Cruz campaign of "dirty tricks" for targeting Dr. Ben Carson during the caucusing in Iowa.

Afterwards, Cruz's communications director, Rick Tyler, publicized a video with inaccurate subtitle captions portraying Marco Rubio criticizing the Bible.

[134] Analyzing the internal exit polling of the primary results, the impact of these accusations affected the evangelical Christian voters in the South Carolina candidate selection.

[135] By the time of the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, on March 1, the exit polling results of evangelical Christian voters were at the anticipated levels, selecting Cruz over Donald Trump, with the exception of Virginia.

[141] Christopher Hooks of The Los Angeles Times stated that Cruz's campaign could be over with an underperformance in Texas, while viewing a large victory as allowing him to remain in the race "with renewed vigor.

Following Rubio's loss in Florida and suspension of his campaign on March 15, commentators noted that Cruz was becoming the surrogate for most of his supporters, including voters and other office holders.

[155] In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Cruz denied the allegations as "complete and utter lies" and called the article "garbage" and placed the blame for the falsehood on Donald Trump and his allies.

[161] Also in April, amid polling showing that Trump had a massive lead in New York, Cruz began redirecting his focus to California, Republican voters there due to cast votes on June 7.

[163] On April 16, Cruz secured all of Wyoming's delegates at the state convention, prompting Trump to call the process "rigged" at a rally that day in Syracuse, New York.

[165][166] On April 22, the Cruz campaign was accused by Governor of Maine Paul LePage, who is a Trump supporter, of reversing its position after promising to back a "unity slate that would honor the wishes of the thousands of Mainers who voted at caucus."

[167] On April 27, 2016, in a move unusual for a candidate in a contested primary,[168][169][170] Cruz announced that Carly Fiorina would be joining his campaign as his vice presidential running mate.

[174] On April 29, Governor of Indiana Mike Pence (candidate Trump's eventual running mate) said he would be voting for Cruz in the state primary, effectively endorsing him.

[190] On April 8, 2015, it was reported that super PACs backing Cruz had raised US$31 million in a week, one of the biggest fundraising surges in modern presidential-race history to date.

Drew Ryun, who works for the Cruz super PAC, said Uihlein was in the top five of the courted Republican donors and called landing him a "good shot in the arm for Ted" as well as boosting the campaign in Iowa.

Cruz has often repeated a line from Ronald Reagan, that to win the election, the Republican Party should be "raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors.

[214][215][216] In April 2016, the campaigns of Cruz and John Kasich agreed to "split up" some of the remaining primaries in an effort to block Donald Trump from gaining the 1,237 delegates necessary to clinch the GOP nomination.