How Ted Cruz could capture the presidency

The operating assumption for political observers going into the 2016 election has been that Sen. Ted Cruz doesn't stand a chance to win a general election. But now that the odds have increased of him actually being the Republican nominee, it's worth revisiting that assumption.

There are no doubt a number of good arguments as to why Cruz would be too polarizing to win a general election, particularly given how the nation's demographic trends favor Democrats. There's a reason why the smart money would be betting against him. But let's entertain an alternate possibility.

To start, of all the Republicans, Cruz is currently in the best position to unite his own party. A good way to think of the party right now is that there are three basic factions.

One is comprised of anti-establishment ideological conservatives who back Cruz, another is made up of anti-establishment populists who support Trump and the other is filled with establishment Republicans who are hoping they can somehow nominate Ohio Gov. John Kasich or some other candidate who seems safer in a general election.More from the Washington Examiner

The problem is that if the party nominates somebody other than Donald Trump or Cruz, it would trigger a furious backlash from both anti-establishment factions, who make up an overwhelming majority of those who have actually cast votes in GOP primaries and caucuses. If Trump is the nominee, he alienates a good chunk of ideological conservatives and establishment Republicans.