Not that Cruz needs much help. He remains enormously popular with a small but vocal part of the base. That has given him a powerful grassroots fundraising platform. Even though he’s not up for reelection for another four years, Cruz has raised $1.8 million so far this cycle, $1.5 million of it coming from individual donations. He’ll need this kind of support and much more if he decides to run for President in 2016. By all accounts, Cruz’s push to shut down the government did not play well with business and corporate donors. “He’s the last person Wall Street would give money to,” says a big Republican donor. “They’re more interested in a Chris Christie or Jeb Bush. Even Rand Paul would be a preferable alternative to Cruz. How [Cruz] is going to run for president without big donors is beyond me.”

Cruz’s office did not return a message seeking comment.