Senator Ted Cruz is walking a fine line, these days.

He angered the alt-right and some of the more establishment-minded Republican lawmakers, when he refused to endorse Trump at the convention in July.

Then he disappointed those who had held him up as a principled purist, by endorsing Trump, after a not-so-thinly veiled threat by RNC Chairman, Weasel Priebus.

When the 2005 hot mic audio of Trump’s vulgarities were made public several weeks ago, he chose to keep out of it, opting to say nothing, at all, at the time. Once things settled, he reaffirmed his support of the GOP nominee.

Now he’s being asked to weigh in on Trump’s claims that the election was being “rigged.”

 “Voter fraud has long been a challenge in America, but the best way to combat voter fraud is for voters to turn out in such overwhelming numbers that corrupt politicians can’t steal an election,” the GOP senator told a Texas Tribune reporter.

Asked by the Tribune if he shared Trump’s concern that the election could be “rigged,” the Texas Republican declined to comment.

At this point, we should probably point out that there’s a difference between voter fraud and “rigging” an election.

Voter fraud suggests the kind of situation where someone is placing fraudulent votes by placing multiple votes, using multiple identities, in multiple polling places, for example. It happens and it’s a lot easier when there are no voter ID requirements in place.

That may be why liberal activist judges are rushing to find bias in voter ID laws, just before a big election.

“Rigging” an election is more along the lines of a wide-scale plan that is already in place, long before the first ballot is cast, and other than the left-leaning liberal media’s coddling of the Democrat candidate, which comes as no surprise to conservatives, there is no proof of any sort of “rigging.”

That may be the reason so many Republicans are slowly backing away from Trump’s whining. They know the difference and don’t want to be seen as the same kind of mindless lunatic as Trump.

Three of Cruz’s GOP colleagues who are up for reelection—Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.)—have each said this week that they do not believe the election is being rigged.

But Trump has doubled down on his accusation ahead of the third presidential debate as he lags behind in national polling in the final homestretch of the election.

Cruz is up for reelection to his senate seat in 2018, and will likely make another run for the White House in 2020.

By that time, we can hope that the Republican party has learned their lesson about novelty candidates and will offer up seasoned professionals, with a grip on policy and a positive vision for the nation, moving forward.

I’m looking forward to many substantive debates between Senators Cruz and Rubio.