That being said, Cruz would've probably won the nomination barring Trump. His infrastructure was very strong, and he outclassed just about everyone else in terms of debate skills and had just enough reach to the conservative movement. He did a lot better than his counterparts Santorum and Huckabee who sort of fulfilled the role of dissatisified socons. I suspect he runs again in 2020. The real question is whether he'll still be the shiny object conservatives would vote for by then or a disgraced figure as this election cycle did a number on his reputation.
Hope Cruz win the nomination in 2020.