He might have decided that his fastest path to the Senate (indeed) and presidency (failed... so far, anyway) was to play the stereotypical big-mouthed, empty-he

He might have decided that his fastest path to the Senate (indeed) and presidency (failed... so far, anyway) was to play the stereotypical big-mouthed, empty-headed Texan, but he went to the Ivies for his undergrad and law degrees and has successfully argued in front of the Supreme Court. In his first major election, he managed to out-compete the well-liked, widely-respected then-Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in the 2012 Republican Senate primary, which of course, pretty much is the election in Texas. I'll grant that he lost to the contemptible Trump in 2016, but so did everyone else. Ted Cruz is loathsome, but not a simpleton. He's reaching out to millennial/Gen X men who fancy themselves tech savvy "libertarians" and who are (sigh) the upcoming ruling class in Texas once their fathers really retire. After growing up around them, I now only have to deal with them a week or two each year when I fly back to visit family.