Hillary Clinton ally David Brock is confident that Ted Cruz will win the primary. | AP Photo Clinton ally Brock lays out Cruz attack plan David Brock zeroes in on the Texan’s character as well as his policy positions.

While Hillary Clinton talks about Donald Trump on the trail, her allies are going after the GOP contender Democrats see as the real competition: Ted Cruz.

David Brock, one of Clinton’s most important allies and fundraisers, is preparing a campaign against the Texas conservative that will attack his character as well as his policy positions.


“The people who know Ted Cruz best despise him, including his former college roommate,” Brock said during a Q&A following a speech Friday at the City Club of Cleveland. “He’s raised money for groups that ran ads against his own fellow Republican senators. He single-handedly forced the government shutdown, which his own colleagues said was a suicide note.”

Brock outlined a general-election battle that would focus on social issues where he believes Cruz is “wildly out of touch with American voters.” He listed Cruz’s position on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, “personhood” legislation and contraception. “Those are the kinds of issues that are going to be raised, and there’s an awful lot to talk about with Ted Cruz.”

Brock is a Clinton detractor-turned-defender. He founded the rapid response organization Correct The Record, which coordinates with the official Clinton campaign and plays an outsize role both in defending her against Republican attacks and going on offense against the competition. He also sits on the board of her super PAC, Priorities USA.

He described Cruz as “the second angriest man in the race” and a “hyper-partisan who has aligned himself with the most extreme elements of the Republican Party,” including the House Freedom Caucus and Iowa Rep. Steve King, a divisive figure within the GOP who has endorsed Cruz.

And Brock is confident Cruz will win the Republican primary.

“He’s where the id of the conservative base is, I believe strongly. He’s got a lot of money, he’s a big super PAC, he’s also got low-dollar donors. He’s playing a very long game organizationally on the ground,” Brock said. “He’s going to win Iowa, I believe, maybe not New Hampshire, but then South Carolina,” Brock said, adding that the party rules that allow for winner-take-all primaries come March will ensure a Cruz victory.

Brock said he doesn't dismiss what he characterized as an outside chance that Donald Trump could win his party’s nomination — “You never discount a demagogue” — but said he is not prepared to pour resources into planning for the rise of Sen. Marco Rubio.

“I just don’t see it,” he said of the young Florida senator. “He has some critical weaknesses, his absenteeism, weird listlessness on the campaign trail, all the mess with his personal finances — there’s a lot. He hasn’t been vetted.”

“I think Cruz will end up as the nominee," Brock added, "and I think Trump will support him and have a big platform. We’ll be hearing from him at the convention and on the campaign trail.”

In his prepared remarks, Brock also launched a broadside against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for targeting the wrong enemy in his campaign. “Hillary understands the nature of the opposition, of their unremitting opposition to progress,” Brock said. “She knows who the enemy is. And it’s not Sen. Sanders’ oft-cited ‘billionaire class.’ It’s this whole radical infrastructure that has a choke-hold on the GOP. Hillary will no doubt work with reasonable conservatives when she can, but she knows what’s required to vanquish the extremists when she must.”

Brock’s shot at Cruz follows a shift within Clinton's inner circles, from worrying primarily about Jeb Bush to taking Cruz's bid most seriously.

Bill Clinton, POLITICO reported earlier this week, also views Cruz as a top candidate with talent, gumption and plenty of money in the bank — $26 million as of Oct. 15 — and in private conversations has outlined how Cruz could win a primary, but not a general election.