Seizing on the pile-up of Trump’s putdowns, Cruz has made a direct and concerted appeal to female voters, whose response has helped propel the Texas senator to a double-digit lead in the state ahead of Tuesday’s primary. He’s looking to parlay that expected success into future wins and, ultimately, to make the case that Trump’s unpopularity among women makes him unelectable in the general election.
“I would hand it to Sen. Cruz and his people,” said Penny Nance, head of Concerned Women for America, a conservative activist group. “They really are working hard to shore up what they see as an area of vulnerability for him.”
Cruz’s wife and mother have hit the trail to highlight a softer side of the senator, whose hard-line style in the Senate has contributed to his own less-than-stellar standing among female voters during the primary season. The efforts are part of a splashy Women for Cruz coalition rollout, highlighted at an event in Madison last week in which Cruz described himself as “blessed my whole life to be surrounded by strong women.”…

“My hope is that Wisconsin becomes the trend that starts the numbers to move in our favor, especially with women and younger voters,” the source said. “If we can start seeing that movement nationally, that’s really going to benefit us. … But we don’t know if Wisconsin is the start of a national trend or not.”