Ted Cruz bows out
In a rambling speech that invoked Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and once again attacked President Obama and the Democratic Party, Ted Cruz, the junior Republican Senator from Texas announced he was suspending his campaign.
Last week, in what many called a desperate attempt to gain support, Cruz made former tech CEO and presidential candidate Carly Firoina his running mate. It was Firoina who introduced Cruz and his family at the campaign’s rally in Indianapolis. During his speech Cruz called Fiorina a “phenomenal running mate.”
Cruz told his supporters in the hall it was with a heavy heart that he was announcing the suspension of his campaign.
Pundits have been predicting the end of his campaign with the Indiana primary. Throughout his campaign fellow Republicans have denigrated Cruz. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina once said, “when it comes to Senator Cruz, he’s exhibited behavior in his time in the Senate that make it impossible for me to believe that he could bring this country together.”
Most recently former Speaker of the House John Boehner called Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh” and said, “… I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”
Cruz has called the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, a liar in the well of the Senate and has attacked many of his fellow Republican senators in his rambling speeches in the Senate. As a result he has very little support from his party. It was only after all the other candidates dropped out the other Republicans grudgingly threw their support to Cruz in hopes of stopping Donald Trump.
The “Never Trump” movement has effectively died as well, since Trump has won more than 50 percent of the Indiana vote and will finish the night less than 200 votes from the required 1,237.
Trump, with the endorsements of the biggest names in the Hoosier State: head coaches Lou Holtz, Digger Phelps of Notre Dame (football and basketball), Gene Keady of Purdue and Bobby Knight of the University of Indiana, won the state handily. He gave his victory speech at Trump Towers in New York City, declaring the Republican primaries over.
In his speech Trump praised Cruz for being a great competitor and told his supporters they would win in November, saying that, “I love winning with women.”
Ohio Governor John Kasich has yet to end his campaign. He is still hoping for a contested convention in Cleveland, OH this July, but GOP chairman Reince Priebus tweeted, “@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton ”
On the Democratic side, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont won Indiana, keeping his name in the race at least one more week.
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