On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Bloomberg’s “With All Due Respect” co-host Mark Halperin warned not to discount 2016 presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Halperin explained that there is a viable path for Cruz to win his party’s nomination, despite labeling him a second-tier candidate.

“[T]his time it’s going to be different,” Halperin said. “The rules are going to have the window. So if Ted Cruz does well in Iowa and South Carolina, he can be the Republican nominee. He’s not a front runner, but he’s a strong second-tier candidate if he performs well, he works hard and he’s brilliant. He can do well.”

Halperin added Cruz would have broaden his appeal beyond his so-called “core supporters.”

“He’s going to have to learn to be a broader figure than he is to wear well,” he added. “Because right now he wears it well with his core supporters and his announcement speech was aimed at his core supporters. But people grow in the process for running for president and people who underestimate ted Cruz’s capacity to grow would be a mistake.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor