When Ted Cruz announced his run for the presidency, the big question was whether he had only a small chance to win or no chance at all. Since then, a lot has gone right for him.

Mr. Cruz still does not enjoy an easy road to the Republican nomination, not by any means. But it is a testament to just how strange this year has been that a candidate like him, who is despised by many of his own Republican colleagues in the Senate, now has a plausible path to the Republican nomination.

Some of his opportunity is the result of his own strength. He has succeeded in building a robust campaign organization, buoyed by fund-raising tallies of the sort we generally haven’t seen from anti-establishment, conservative candidates. Fund-raising isn’t everything, but it’s a big part of why candidates like Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum have not been serious contenders this time.

Read the article “Does Ted Cruz Have a Chance to Win? Here’s the Path.” on nytimes.com.