Jose Vergara awaited the arrival of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) holding a large cross. On it was a Jesus figurine — mid-crucifixion — covered in strokes of red paint meant to look like blood. The cross read: “The amazing Jesus Christ who loves you.”

Vergara, wearing dark sunglasses and a motorcycle vest, loves two things in life: Jesus and Cruz, in that order. So when he heard that Cruz was coming, it was no question that he had to bring his cross, which is about two feet tall.

The cross was the most outwardly religious display in a room of about 800 Cruz supporters in Cicero, New York — about 15 minutes north of Syracuse — where Cruz held a rally on Friday afternoon. Cruz has long depended on evangelical voters, and Vergara is just one of the deeply devout Christian supporters who is backing Cruz.

“I take this everywhere,” Vergara said, holding up the cross. “I’ve been praying that Mr. Cruz becomes the next president of the United States.”

Vergara is a Colombian immigrant who moved to Syracuse about 50 years ago. He got a job putting transmission cases together at a car manufacturing plant in DeWitt, where he worked for almost 36 years. Then he got sick. He retired. He found Jesus.

Then the plant where he used to work shut down because, Vergara said, the company outsourced jobs to other countries.

Vergara sounds like he would support Donald Trump, whose campaign thus far has been resonating with voters exactly in Vergara’s situation. He even said he wants to see a leader who will “make America great again.” But he’s not a Donald Trump supporter. And for Vergara, Cruz has one thing Trump doesn’t: values.

“I care about the Constitution. We don’t need to change it,” Vergara said. “Mr. Cruz will fight for the Constitution.”

Keeping on theme, that was exactly what Cruz included in his speech at the rally. He spoke about keeping the Supreme Court conservative after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and fighting for religious freedom.

“Let me make it very clear to the men and women of New York: I will not compromise away your religious liberty,” Cruz said, to huge applause.

Cruz also included typical campaign talking points in his speech: establishing a flat tax, abolishing the IRS, defeating “radical Islamist terrorism” and rallying against the establishment. His speech lasted for about 24 minutes.

It’s Cruz’s dedication to these talking points throughout the entire race — in contrast to Trump — that appeals to 17-year-old Cicero resident Josh Meeker. Although he won’t be old enough to vote in the New York primary on April 19, he’ll turn 18 in June before the general election.

“I’m a conservative, and Cruz has been an unwavering conservative,” Meeker said. “He’s not like Trump — he’s not racist.”

“Cruz is open to negotiation, but he’s not going to let everything slide, he’s not going to let illegal immigrants into this country,” he continued. “You never know what Trump is going to do, but I know what Cruz stands for because he’s a true conservative.”

Mary Ann Rivizzigno, a 55-year-old woman wearing a light blue “Cruz for President” baseball cap, also said Cruz’s enduring support for the Constitution and “American values” makes Cruz the only candidate worth supporting. She said Cruz will take care of the Islamic State, immigration, the “PC culture taking over the country” and attacks on religious freedom.

“He’s not a flip-flopper, which is very important to me because I do not like flip-floppers at all,” she said. “He’s for us, he’s really for us. He’s never swayed.”

Rivizzigno said she is part of the “Never Trump” movement, a campaign of voters whose goal is to deny Trump the Republican nomination.

“Trump has not only flipped-flopped, but he’s lied, he’s cheated — he’s absolutely vile,” she added. “The guy’s a joke.”

At the rally, Cruz touted his wins in Utah, North Dakota, Colorado and his “landslide” win in Wisconsin, where he beat Trump by 13 percent in what was widely considered an upset. But the latest polling suggests that New York is Trump’s state to win. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released on Friday, Cruz is behind both Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich in New York. Cruz trails Kasich by nine points and Trump by 38 points, according to the poll.

But despite the bleak state of affairs that may be ahead for him in New York, Cruz said he’s bringing the entire spectrum of the Republican Party together to unite behind his campaign. He cited endorsements from former GOP candidates Rick Perry, Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Carly Fiorina and Scott Walker as proof of that point.

“There are two and only two people with any plausible path to win the nomination: me and Donald Trump … nominating Trump elects Hillary Clinton, and if Hillary Clinton is the next president we lose the Supreme Court for a generation, the Bill of Rights is put in jeopardy and our kids are buried in trillions of debt,” he said.

Published on April 15, 2016 at 8:38 pm

Contact Rachel: rsandler@syr.edu