Ted Cruz Suspends Presidential Campaign
Ted Cruz suspended his campaign for president after Donald Trump secured a huge victory in the Indiana primary Tuesday, The New York Times reports.
“From the beginning, I have said that I will continue on as long as there is a viable path to victory,” Cruz told supporters in Indianapolis. “Tonight, I am sorry to say, it appears that path has been closed.”
Despite winning the opening Iowa caucus and several other big states, the Texas senator has lagged behind Trump in the delegate count throughout the primary season. While it’s long been mathematically impossible for Cruz to accumulate the 1,237 delegates necessary to win the Republican nomination outright, he was expected to remain in the race in order to prevent Trump from reaching that same marker, and thus force a contested convention in July.
After an important victory in Wisconsin last month, Cruz and the larger “Stop Trump” movement seemed to be gaining ground — until Trump won big in New York and swept last week’s five Northeastern contests. Tuesday’s primary in Indiana was seen as the last chance for Republicans to block Trump, and Cruz attempted to win over voters by naming former candidate Carly Fiorina as his potential running mate, should he have capture the nomination. Cruz and Ohio governor John Kasich — who, as of now, remains in the race — even attempted to hinder Trump by agreeing to concentrate their efforts in certain states, though their alliances began to falter almost as soon as it was formed.
Ted Cruz suspended his campaign for president after losing to Donald Trump in the Indiana primary. Watch highlights from last night’s primary speeches.