Cruz’s relationship with his colleagues is now a central paradox of his campaign: He’s openly arguing for the party to rally behind him, but Republican senators are plainly wary of going anywhere near him. Those who feel burned by Cruz in the past say he’ll come to them only if he decides it’s in his self-interest.

But senators have their own calculation to make: Whether they can put all the bad blood behind them for someone many of them privately view as even more polarizing than Trump.

If Cruz were to embrace a caucus he calls part of the “Washington cartel” — and its leader, Mitch McConnell, whom the Texan branded a liar on the Senate floor — it would also undercut the central tenet of his candidacy. He’s pitched himself as the one Republican who went to Washington but refused to go native, resisting the tide of compromise even when it made him a pariah.

“What was in his best interest was labeling the rest of us as establishment, and he as the only true conservative,” said Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.). “It kind of undermines that narrative if he asks now for endorsements.”