Potential Running Mates for Cruz

[Fuzzy Stands With His Friend, Chairman Sanchez]

Haley would be my guess. Walker or Pence would be solid picks too.  Cruz won't pick a moderate running mate. His biggest selling point to conservatives is ideological purity.  Huntsman, Ayotte, etc. wouldn't be considered.

The base always rallies around the nominee. Romney didn't lose 2012 because the conservatives stayed home. They won't care about the VP nominee so long as Cruz tops the ticket. Cruz is running because he wants to win, not for sh*ts and giggles.

I do not believe that any "establishment" Republican would serve as Cruz's running mate.  Indeed, I believe that the "establishment" Republicans secretly favor HRC to Cruz.  They'll nominally endorse Cruz and will appear with him on the stump if it's "safe" in their state, but if it's not, they'll pretty much indicate that they'll vote for Cruz but not actively campaign for him.

Cruz, if nominated, will be stuck with the fringe GOP for his ticket.  Mike Lee and Paul LePage are the obvious picks.  My own feeling is that most Republicans would be afraid of sullying their future prospects in tying themselves to a Cruz 2016 ticket.  Cruz, I believe, is pretty much unelectable, and would probably move the needle to the left to the point where Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska 2, Indiana, and Arizona all shift to the Democrats, without losing ground anywhere else. 

[MATTROSE94]

Tom Cotton, Ben Carson, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Mike Lee, Nikki Haley, Mary Fallin, Sam Brownback, Paul LePage, Jim Inhofe, Jeff Sessions, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Allen West would all be plausible picks for Ted Cruz's runnnng mate in addition to the fantastic and unconventional choices that Lief listed earlier in the thread.

[stegosaurus]

I could see him going the Obama route and picking an elder statesman to help cancel out his lack of experience (Cruz will also be running on 6 years of US Senate experience) and rebuild burnt bridges. Richard Burr maybe?

[Pyro]

He would probably be better off competitively with an older establishment candidate, but I can definitely seeing him going with a Nikki Haley or Marco Rubio.

[Ticket2016]

I would love a Ted Cruz/Mike Pence ticket. That balances the ticket exponentially well.

[Angel of Death]

If Cruz actually manages to win the nomination with his purity, how would he in any way feel restrained to pick anything but a clone of himself as his running mate?

[bobloblaw]

Pence or Kaisch. Someone to beef up a record, since he's a tad thin on foreign policy achievements, apart from the generic 'Islamic extreme fascist radicals' stuff.

Heck if he had sense he'd go with Huntsman, but he's a RINO

Huntsman will not be on a national GOP Ticket until at least 2020 due to his support of SSM.

While the Leadership may be able to shove "SSM is settled law" into the fairly irrelevant national platform as early as 2016, the republican base will not tolerate, under any circumstances, having an SSM Supporter on the national ticket until 2020, and maybe not even then.

Huntsman wont be on the ticket EVER. He is a loser and this absurd notion that he would win should be dropped.

[Frodo]

I agree with others here that no establishment Republican with any self-respect would want to touch his candidacy with a ten-foot pole (not even Tim Scott), so that leaves fringe candidates like Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann.  

[Kingpoleon]

Bill Haslam, Marco Rubio, or Ben Carson seem like good choices to either boost establishment support, build a bridge there, or maximize turnout/not hurting himself too much among minorities.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

I feel like Justin Amash would be a good pick for Cruz. He doesn't subscribe to conventional political wisdom so I think doubling down in his conservative cred and youth would be the route his campaign takes.

[Mister Mets]

Haley's my guess. She adds diversity to the ticket, doesn't have Washington baggage, has experience and can fit a new generation theme.

Marco Rubio's background might be too similar, but he's not running for another term.

Carly Fiorina is a woman with private sector experience and relatively high name recognition. Her political opportunities are otherwsie limited.

John Kasich would be a good match, but there is the sense that they might not work well together. There is a balance of experience, and it could suggst Republican unity.

[Horsemask]

It won't be someone who Cruz views as being from the "mushy middle", or someone from the establishment. Cruz will double down on someone from the right wing.

[Suburbia]

Steve King or Paul LePage.

[zs4321]

Maybe not Cruz But I wonder if anyone would chose Tim Scott

[I support Sanders]

Haley would be my guess. Walker or Pence would be solid picks too.  Cruz won't pick a moderate running mate. His biggest selling point to conservatives is ideological purity.  Huntsman, Ayotte, etc. wouldn't be considered.

The base always rallies around the nominee. Romney didn't lose 2012 because the conservatives stayed home. They won't care about the VP nominee so long as Cruz tops the ticket. Cruz is running because he wants to win, not for sh*ts and giggles.

I do not believe that any "establishment" Republican would serve as Cruz's running mate.  Indeed, I believe that the "establishment" Republicans secretly favor HRC to Cruz.  They'll nominally endorse Cruz and will appear with him on the stump if it's "safe" in their state, but if it's not, they'll pretty much indicate that they'll vote for Cruz but not actively campaign for him.

Cruz, if nominated, will be stuck with the fringe GOP for his ticket.  Mike Lee and Paul LePage are the obvious picks.  My own feeling is that most Republicans would be afraid of sullying their future prospects in tying themselves to a Cruz 2016 ticket.  Cruz, I believe, is pretty much unelectable, and would probably move the needle to the left to the point where Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska 2, Indiana, and Arizona all shift to the Democrats, without losing ground anywhere else. 

How is Paul LePage an "obvious pick?" It is interesting that three people in this thread have mentioned LePage's name. What does he bring to the ticket? I am from Maine, and can attest that LePage is not well-liked in the state. He has never received more than half of the vote (twice winning a plurality in a three-way race), wouldn't receive Maine's 4 electoral votes, and he has a history of making controversial comments.

I could see him going the Obama route and picking an elder statesman to help cancel out his lack of experience (Cruz will also be running on 6 years of US Senate experience) and rebuild burnt bridges. Richard Burr maybe?

I was thinking something similar. Burr didn't come to mind, and the FBN debate makes me think Cruz dislikes Kasich, but perhaps Romney, Pataki, or Graham would be good picks for experienced, elderly statesmen.

[Ticket2016]

Ted Cruz should run with Mike Pence or John Hoeven

[Kingpoleon]

Biden=Graham/Corker.

[Orser67]

Just as I think that Hillary will probably not pick a female running mate, I think that Cruz would probably pick someone white. I also imagine he'll pick someone from outside the South who has at least some appeal to moderates.

Imo Kelly Ayotte would be perfect. Normally two young Senators wouldn't make sense, but I think it would given the "Washington sucks" mood among many. Cory Gardner and Joni Ernst would make sense for the same reason. John Thune, Rob Portman, Paul Ryan (who I don't think would accept), and maybe Chris Christie (who has the perfect personality for an attack dog VP despite Bridgegate) would make sense too.

[Ticket2016]

Dream tickets:
Cruz/Pence
Cruz/Lee
Cruz/Gardner
Cruz/Ayotte