“That’s what Donald does to protesters”, Cruz said.
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“It would be nice to have the Republican Party come together”, Mr Trump told supporters in Fort Wayne.
“When you have this Cruz/Kasich pact, they felt like they were being told, ‘don’t vote for the person you want to, vote against somebody else, ‘” said Dr. Laura Albright, University of Indianapolis professor. Over the weekend, the Tampa Bay Times noted comments by Senator Marco Rubio that suggest he might be “warming up to Donald Trump”.
Trump supporter: Do the math. The aides concede that, without a win in an in primary where 57 delegates are at stake, Cruz’s shot at the nomination would significantly narrow. According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Trump leads Cruz by 7.8 percent. While Cruz’s campaign is optimistic about upcoming states like Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana, where all delegates go to the victor of the popular vote, he may struggle to find momentum. Once upon a time, such states were going to secure the nomination for Cruz-the slate of conservative, religious Southern states voting in the March 1 “SEC Primary” was going to stop Donald Trump and vault Cruz ahead. Cruz asked the man. “Name one thing”. Ted Cruz in IN on Tuesday.
Cruz addressed California Republican leaders just hours before a speech by his announced running mate, Carly Fiorina, a former executive in the state’s high-tech center of Silicon Valley.
Meantime, on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders trails in IN polls but claims he’ll win California in June and force a contested convention. Before endorsing Cruz, Pence also went out of his way to praise Trump, the latest sign the Republican establishment is coming to terms with the notion that Trump is the likely nominee.
In a one-on-one interview with FOX59’s Kendall Downing before Cruz took the stage, he wouldn’t say directly if a loss in IN means he is out of the presidential race.
An increasingly confident Trump told supporters at a rally in Terre Haute, Indiana, that he is eager to shift his focus to the general election campaign and away from rivals Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Just a single poll shows Cruz ahead. It’s the widest lead given to Trump by any major IN poll yet.
“And let the record show you tried very, very hard to get me to commit to supporting Trump, the record will show that”, Cruz responded. Cruz has 565 and Kasich has 153. Each has the backing of about half of voters: Clinton is the choice of 51% of Democratic voters, while 49% of Republican voters say they would prefer Trump to be their nominee.
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Trump’s team sensed an IN knockout. That’s certainly possible, but if Republicans have learned anything from the McCain and Romney campaigns, it’s that “ignore the polls” is a bad battle cry.
