Ted Cruz is trying to lock up the anti-Trump vote, now that Florida Senator Marco Rubio is out of the Republican presidential contest. The Texas senator used his election night watch party to call on all Republicans opposed to Donald Trump to back Cruz’s own campaign for the party’s nomination.
Former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina spoke first, addressing a packed ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in the Galleria.
“For about the last week or so,” Fiorina said, “every time I’ve gotten on television or gotten on the radio, someone has asked me this question, ‘Well, if Donald Trump is our nominee, are you going to support him?’ And here’s the answer I have been giving since the week he got into the race: Donald Trump does not represent me, and he does not represent my party.”
Then Cruz took the podium. He congratulated Rubio on running a strong, optimistic campaign.
“To those who supported Marco, who worked so hard, we welcome you with open arms,” he said.
Cruz cast himself as the one Republican candidate capable of preventing Trump from winning the party’s nomination, saying, “Nobody else has any mathematical possibility whatsoever.”
The remark was likely intended for Ohio Governor John Kasich, the only other GOP contender left.