“Defeating Donald Trump is critical to putting a conservative in the White House and reversing the disastrous eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency”, Cruz wrote in a pre-debate fundraising appeal.
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Trump on Thursday appeared to try to appear more presidential, something he has pledged often in the past to do so but never has.
The ad closes: “Kasich gave Ohio Obamacare, and increased our budget more than any other governor in the U.S. We don’t need him in Ohio – and we certainly don’t need him in Washington”. “We’re going to come up with solutions”. “No one is going to have the numbers”, he said on ABC earlier this week.
Trump said he didn’t condone it. And while his opponents spoke out against violence in general, they didn’t blame Trump for creating a culture that encourages it – instead trying to tap into the anger and frustration within the GOP themselves.
Trump is already working hard to head off the possibility, arguing that whoever arrives in Cleveland when the Republican convention opens on July 18 is entitled to the nomination.
Polls show a tight race in OH, with Trump holding a 2.5 percentage-point lead in the RealClearPolitics average.
The latest chapter in the ongoing splintering of the Republican Party saw presidential hopeful Marco Rubio’s campaign Friday urging GOP voters in OH to support his opponent, Gov. John Kasich in an attempt to keep Donald Trump from winning the state’s primary on Tuesday.
Yet Trump’s biggest threat remained Cruz, who has secured 359 delegates to Trump’s 458 in the Republican contests held so far.
A contested convention could also be a very contentious one, as Trump supporters revolt against what they see as efforts to steal the nomination from their candidate.
With these results, Mr Cruz wins nine delegates, while Mr Rubio and Mr Trump scored one delegate each, with another delegate uncommitted.
“Wow is this a different debate than last week’s”, Axelrod tweeted out, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
As Rubio’s fortunes declined this past week and some in the GOP suggested that the establishment rally around Cruz, few senators were willing to step forward.
Rubio had a sharp comeback: “I’m not interested in being politically correct. That is indisputable”, he added, referring to the US senator’s home state. The Trump campaign finally canceled the rally, citing safety concerns.
Mr Trump’s restrained response was: “If Ted was listening, he would have heard me say something very similar” to what Mr Cruz had said about the failings of the deal.
“If I am elected president, in the first days as president, I will direct the Department of Education that Common Core ends that day”, he said. The ads have largely focused on Trump’s questionable business dealings, including legal action against the educational company Trump University.
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“It would be a meltdown”, said Republican consultant Bruce Haynes, predicting that the new voters Trump has attracted “would walk from any eventual ticket”.
