With no clear obstacles standing between Trump and the GOP’s formal nomination this summer some party stalwarts, who refuse to support Trump, are exploring the possibility of a third party candidate for November.
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Instead Cruz lost miserably and dropped out of the race on Tuesday, marking yet another failed effort by a Trump foes to stop his momentum.
One of Ted Cruz’s staunchest financial backers is signaling support for Donald Trump now that he is the presumptive Republican nominee.
Though armed with an extensive resume in politics, the second-term OH governor struggled to connect with Republican primary voters in a year dominated by anti-establishment frustration.
John Kasich will end his Republican presidential bid, according to a source close to the decision. That centrist appeal made Kasich seem like a formidable general-election candidate.
His comments on several networks came a few hours after Trump, once dismissed as a fringe contender, became all-but certainly the leader of the Republican Party into the fall campaign against Clinton. The former secretary of state suffered a defeat in IN to her rival, Bernie Sanders, but holds a definitive lead in Democratic delegates who will decide the Democratic nomination.
The Republican competition changed dramatically with Trump’s IN victory and Ted Cruz’s abrupt decision to quit the race.
Kasich will end his run with just one primary victory, which came in his home state of Ohio. Now that Trump clearly will not be denied a first-ballot majority of delegates, it’s time for him to go. Operatives have floated former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Nebraska Sen.
Westmoreland, who is not running for re-election, previously supported Sen.
Another longtime Republican operative, Ed Rollins, has signed on as a strategist for Great America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC.
The unease among top Republicans is likely to complicate Mr Trump’s search for a running mate.
Mr Trump ridiculed Mr Cruz’s wife, Heidi, and suggested that Mr Cruz’s father was connected to Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed President John F Kennedy.
Mr Trump defended his reference to the Enquirer article as “not such a bad thing”, but the line of attack was the final straw for some Republican critics. He’s going to be the nominee. He added Clinton’s slogan: “I’m with her”.
Liz Johnson, a spokeswoman for the senator, said in a statement Wednesday that Ayotte “plans to support the nominee” – with no mention of Trump’s name.
But back in the 2012 campaign, Romney offered a similar threat to China: “On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator, which will allow me as president to be able to put in place, if necessary, tariffs where I believe that they are taking unfair advantage of our manufacturers.”
“I’ve said I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory; tonight I’m sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed”, Cruz told a somber crowd in Indianapolis. At the beginning, when, like everyone else, he thought Mr Trump would fade, Mr Cruz tried to cosy up to him, scheming to inherit his supporters.
Mr Trump has said he wants a vice-presidential nominee with political experience to balance the ticket.
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Clinton did not spend a dime on TV or radio advertising in IN, while Sanders spent about $1.7 million – or about $5.20 per vote. Heading into Tuesday’s voting, Clinton had 92 percent of the delegates she needs. “I feel like the dude who knows his girlfriend’s been cheating on him this whole time and has a drinking problem”.
