After the theatrical launch of his presidential campaign Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz now faces a massive hurdle: raising the tens of millions of dollars it will take to mount a year-and-a-half long campaign.

The Texas Republican and tea party darling is months behind his competitors in recruiting the megadonors and bundlers essential to a credible GOP primary bid. He’s not well-liked among cash-flush lobbyists. And his uncompromising policy positions and role in forcing the government shutdown in 2013 didn’t exactly excite the financiers and business executives who make up the elite donor class. Those considerations, along with the need to capture attention in a crowded field of conservatives, contributed to the decision to become the first Republican to formally enter the race.


“From the standpoint of the fundraising circuit I think it is going to be difficult for him to convince major donors that he is substantive enough to be able to avail himself of their largesse,” said Joe Brettell, a Texas-based GOP operative. “His sweet spot is the conservative grass-roots faithful and it is a fundamentally different makeup and wish list than it is with Ken Langone, Woody Johnson and the rest of the typical cast of characters. When it comes to what have you done for me lately, his greatest accomplishments in the eye of the conservative movement of shutting down the government aren’t going to hold a lot of water.”

For many Texas operatives, Cruz’s decision to launch his campaign outside his home state, at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, confirmed what they long suspected — his eye has always been on the national stage. That’s not necessarily an appealing trait to the Texas donors Cruz will need to form the backbone of his financing plan.

“A criticism of Sen. Cruz has been that he has been more focused on the White House than serving the people of Texas,” said Jenifer Sarver, a Texas-based consultant and former chief of staff to Karen Hughes, who served as counselor to President George W. Bush. “His decision to announce a presidential bid two years into his term and make the announcement outside of Texas serves to amplify that impression for many.”

While there are whisper numbers that front-runner Jeb Bush could report as much as $100 million in the first fundraising quarter alone, the Cruz camp has a more modest $40 million to $50 million goal for the whole of the primary season — though it is unclear how much of that will be divided between the campaign and a super PAC.

“The excitement created by Sen. Cruz’s announcement has motivated conservative grass-roots donors and big donors alike,” said Jason Miller for Cruz’s campaign. “We’re energized by the early rush of donor activity and are very confident we can achieve our goals.”

Cruz is wasting no time trying to make up the cash deficit, launching a 10-city fundraising tour in an attempt to take advantage of momentum from his announcement. The goal is to raise at least $1 million over the coming week, and to make progress toward the campaign’s goal of raking in at least $40 million over the course of the primary campaign.

The tour began Monday evening in New York City, where Cruz was feted at a cocktail event hosted by philanthropist Rebekah Mercer. He’ll also be appearing in New York City on Wednesday for a “Young Professionals for Cruz” gathering. Then, on March, 31, Cruz will be in Houston for an event that aims to raise $750,000.

In April, Cruz’s fundraising tour will take him to a series of cities, including Austin; Dallas; San Diego; Champaign, Illinois; and St. Clairsville, Ohio. Among the bold-faced names that will toast him over the course of the month will be California venture capitalist Elliott Broidy, Texas investor Tom Hicks Jr., and Ohio energy executive Bob Murray.

Five events will take place in Cruz’s home state of Texas, where the senator is competing for dollars with several other prospective presidential candidates who have already picked off several top GOP donors.

But not everybody is convinced Cruz will be able to collect the campaign checks necessary to keep his operation running over the long haul, particularly with Republicans like Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry competing heavily in Texas for contributions. Christie, for example, has veteran Texas bundler and donor Ray Washburne chairing his finance team. Bush’s operation is hosting a fundraiser in Dallas on Wednesday with more than 50 co-hosts — and it will include a rare appearance by his brother, former President George W. Bush.

“He’ll have a problem in terms of Texas money with Perry and he’ll have a problem nationwide in terms of national money after that initial tranche of funds,” said Stuart Roy, who worked for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and ran former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s super PAC. “There is no particular reason why the alternative candidate has to be Ted Cruz.”

“There is a lot of money in Texas, but there’s also not a lot of dumb money people in Texas,” Roy added.

Cruz will also be limited in tapping Washington’s rich vein of cash — it’s a city that has little love for him. Unlike most campaigns that regularly make stops inside the Beltway to recruit bundlers and collect checks (for instance, Bush will be making his third stop in mid-April for a coffee fundraiser), Cruz doesn’t have a large base of support on K Street.

Still, despite starting from a disadvantage on the national fundraising scene, there’s reason to think Cruz could be more financially competitive than some expect.

One Republican consultant with ties to the conservative donor world said Cruz will be able to raise more than enough through a variety of streams — large money out of Texas; ideological donors (particularly those who are pro-Israel); and from the conservative grass roots, through his direct mail, telemarketing and online donors.

“What I’ve seen over and over again in Republican primaries is as soon as voters know who the candidates are they slide toward the conservative,” the consultant said. “It’s not to say money isn’t a factor, but whether or not they get over the hump to run a credible campaign is more of a question for Mike Huckabee, who has a steeper hill to climb and his donor base is significantly narrower.”

Cruz could also benefit from a megadonor benefactor if he gains traction in early primary states — as Rick Santorum did with Foster Friess in 2012. Supporters point to how Mitt Romney had a difficult time shutting down Santorum’s bid even though he vastly outspent the Pennsylvania Republican.

This wouldn’t be the first time Cruz faced a steep cash disadvantage. To win his Senate seat in 2012, Cruz had to overcome David Dewhurst, then the state’s lieutenant governor, despite Dewhurst’s ability to pour in tens of millions of his own money.

In that race, the conservative pro-business group Club for Growth spent $5.5 million on television ads supporting Cruz and Club members contributed $705,000 to his campaign. It looks likely that Cruz could count on support from members again for his presidential bid. The Club’s Doug Sachtleben said the group could even endorse in the presidential primary contest, something it hasn’t done in the past.

“Club members are very excited about Ted Cruz and several of the other likely presidential candidates,” Sachtleben said. “This presidential field could be the best ever for the economic growth movement. In terms of endorsements, we’ll watch as the race unfolds next year. Club for Growth PAC hasn’t endorsed in past presidential races, but we haven’t ruled out endorsing in the future.”

Alex Isenstadt contributed to this report.