I voted for Cruz in the Maryland primary because, on paper, many of his positions are most consistent with mine. I do not like his stands on social issues that are the result of his religious beliefs but I could live with that for faithfulness to the Constitution and a stance on free trade. It also seems to me that, in his grasp for power, he has character flaws that I do not admire. Many times, while saying things I agree with I get the notion he is insincere and pandering to his constituency. His strategy of being nice to Trump early, expecting him to quit and he could pick up his supporters was dishonest. Once the race began to narrow the ugliness erupted on both sides. He was asked to speak last night, as many others were, to help unite the party. Those that could not endorse Trump, stayed away even though they were criticized for doing so. They were honorable for standing on their convictions. Cruz could not resist trying to launch his campaign for 2020 at the party's expense so he took the stage to take what he wanted without giving anything in return. It was dishonest and when there were murmurs, he insinuated that the New York (Trump) organization was the only ones unhappy with his approach. That was an insult to the whole body and I think is a gaffe that he will never recover from. I said, OMG, he just doused himself with gasoline and struck a match. One of the talking heads said well there you are, people in Washington have been asked why so many "instantly" dislike Ted Cruz and the answer is "It saves a lot of time".
Ideology is very important and I share none of Hilary's and don't believe Trump has any. But character is equally important. Without honesty, you cannot tell if someone agrees with you or just lying to get your support.
As a small consolation, I believe Mike Pense is an honest manifestation of what I liked about Cruz even though he is not the top of the ticket.
What a mess!