GOP 2016: How Does Cruz Stack Up?
CUOMO: Big news: Republican Senator Cruz out of Texas, you know his name. Now, you know what you know? He's the first man named running for president. Question is, how's he's going to stack up against the other potential candidates on that side? Shall we discuss?</s>CAMEROTA: Let's do that.</s>CUOMO: I want to it March Madness-style.</s>CAMEROTA: Let's bring in our guests. Here to help us are Republican strategist Ana Navarro, and Democratic strategist, Richard Socarides. Great to see you both of you.</s>RICHARD SOCARIDES, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: We're excited. The race is beginning --</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, gentlemen, start your engine.</s>SOCARIDES: -- with an all excellent candidate. All Democrats want everybody on the Republican side to be for Ted Cruz, so he gets the nomination, so Hillary can run against Ted Cruz.</s>CAMEROTA: I'm sensing sarcasm, Ana. How do you feel about Ted being the first one -- Ted Cruz being the first one in and the timing of this?</s>ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think it's very smart of him. Part of it might be a little bit of trolling with Rand Paul. You know, Rand Paul, who is also expected to announce, has said he will announce April 7th and he was letting the date be out there so other people wouldn't announce on the same date. I think Ted Cruz became the first. He's dominated the media cycle since yesterday and has us all watching and I think he's the guy that gets the engine started. And, you know, people lining up at the gate. It's a fun time for political junkies.</s>CUOMO: Now, that's the key, for political junkies. Sometimes people say here comes a little bit of the hype-pocracy for politics. It's too early. And you know what they could point to, Ted Cruz is the first one in. But he is not doing well in the polls, Mr. Socarides, which is you want him to run against Hillary Clinton if she is your nominee. He's like 4 percent on most polls. He's behind Dr. Ben Carson. OK, we had him on NEW DAY. And the big two governors who may enter the race, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker out of Wisconsin.</s>SOCARIDES: But, you know, he's a very smart guy, Princeton University, Harvard Law School, top of his class. He-shouldn't be underestimated from the extreme right for sure. He's kind of, you know, from the obstructionist wing of the Republican Party, who says he believes that he'd rather shut down the government than compromise. So, it's hard to believe that he will get a lot of mainstream traction, but there is a big faction within the Republican Party who he I think will appeal to.</s>CAMEROTA: Ana, let's look at Ted Cruz March Madness-style, OK? We're bracket crazy. We've set up a bracket.</s>NAVARRO: Oh, God, Alisyn, just because -- listen, just because you're number one on the bracket, don't torture me.</s>CAMEROTA: Exactly. I have been knocked down to number three. OK. Let's do a head to head matchup between him and Senator Rand Paul. What are the big distinctions between these two, Ana?</s>CUOMO: Who wins?</s>NAVARRO: Libertarian versus social conservative, I give it to Rand Paul because he takes the libertarian space all by himself, whereas the social conservative space is going to have a lot of competition, Ben Carson who just mentioned, maybe Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum. There's going to be a lot of social conservative fighting for that vote.</s>CUOMO: Don't jump on Ana's bracket. I'll give you your own.</s>SOCARIDES: OK.</s>CUOMO: Marco Rubio down in Florida.</s>SOCARIDES: She loves Marco.</s>CUOMO: Marco Rubio, what did you say, Ana?</s>NAVARRO: I said, for me, bracketing is a verb. It's what you do in politics, bracket and announce on one side or the other.</s>CUOMO: All right. I like that. That's a fair point. So, what do you think, Socarides? You got Senator Ted Cruz against Marco Rubio, both young guns, both have been pushing abstinence of this current administration. What do you think? Who wins this matchup?</s>SOCARIDES: Well, Marco Rubio is a very attracted candidate for the Republicans. I think he would get a lot more attention if Jeb Bush were not in the race. I mean, he is -- I would think he will say I am a conservative but I'm not an obstructionist, like Ted Cruz, I can work with other people. Marco Rubio is very much in Jeb Bush's kind of style of politics. It's hard to imagine there's both of them in this race. So, the big challenge for Rubio is going to be Jeb Bush, not Cruz.</s>CAMEROTA: OK, let's look at our --</s>CUOMO: Have to grab him by the nose.</s>CAMEROTA: Oh, by the nose --</s>CAMEROTA: I like that. OK. Ana, let's talk about Senator Cruz versus Governor Scott Walker. What do you think?</s>NAVARRO: Well, I think you've got a first term rookie senator. That's going to be a challenge for Rand Paul, for Marco Rubio and for Ted Cruz because they're going to be fighting the shadow of President Obama who came into power from that, from being a first term rookie. For Senator Cruz it's easier, because he's got no skin in the game, in the sense that both Senator Paul and senator Rubio are up for election in 2016. Senator Cruz is not. I'm beginning to think Mitch McConnell is going to have to show up in Iowa or New Hampshire to get a quorum in the Senate. So, you know, Scott Walker is a governor with executive experience but little foreign policy know how, it seems. Ted Cruz has been in the Senate. He has been exposed to foreign policy. He doesn't have the executive experience.</s>CAMEROTA: OK.</s>NAVARRO: I will say this -- Ted Cruz, with whom I don't really agree on a lot of things, has stayed consistent on his positions. Scott Walker is facing questions about whether he's changing positions now that he's running for president.</s>CUOMO: All right. Now, it's big one and we're going to have you both of you weigh on this one, because, Ana, obviously knows Jeb Bush very well. So, here it is, Senator Ted Cruz against former government Jeb Bush. Now, Socarides, one of the interesting things about this coming into it, is that Ted Cruz would say Jeb Bush is everything that's wrong with the Republican Party. This is probably the most polar opposite situation. What are the merits?</s>SOCARIDES: Well, I think on the merits, Jeb Bush has experience as an executive in a state. I'm not making a case for him. I think he would say, I am very conservative like Ted Cruz but I'm not an obstructionist and can work with others. That will be his appeal. He will appeal to the more center-right Republicans. Obviously, he's got a big financial advantage, he has the name. This will be a very interesting race. I mean, you see here taking shape the battle for the future of the Republican Party.</s>CAMEROTA: Ana, your thoughts?</s>NAVARRO: Well, for starters, Jeb Bush speaks Spanish, Ted Cruz doesn't.</s>CUOMO: Oh, that's a low blow, Ana. That's a low blow.</s>NAVARRO: By the way, his name is a Rafael Cruz, which he is going to be the first Cuban-American to ever announce for president. He is of Cuban descent. His father was a Cuban who exiled from Cuba before Fidel Castro came out. Look, Jeb Bush probably has more appeal. You could probably argue Jeb Bush is more electable in a general election. Ted Cruz has a lot of appeal with the Republican base, which is one of the things a problem for Jeb Bush. So, they appeal to dramatically different audiences.</s>CAMEROTA: Got it. All right. Ana, Richard, thank you.</s>SOCARIDES: Thank you.</s>CAMEROTA: Fun to do the brackets with you. Michaela?</s>PEREIRA: I like the way you did that. All right. Up ahead here: Robert Durst is due in a Louisiana courtroom in just a few hours time. We're going to take a look why Durst's lawyer says his arrest for murder and gun charges aren't legal.