Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and presidential candidate Carly Fiorina delivered a surprise endorsement of Texas Sen. [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore] at a Cruz campaign rally in Florida on Wednesday.
Fiorina, who dropped out of the contest after a disappointing finish in New Hampshire’s primary, told the Miami crowd that she voted for the Texas senator during Virginia’s Super Tuesday contest last week.
“I walked into the ballot box, and I looked at the ballot, and I saw my own name on the ballot, it was kind of a thrill,” Fiorina said. “But then I checked the box for Ted Cruz, and I’m here to tell you why.”
“You know people say all the time we are all known by the company we keep,” Fiorina said. “I’ll tell you what. Ted Cruz should be known — is proud to be known — by the enemies he has made in the D.C. cartel.”
Fiorina also took shots at front-runner Donald Trump, who repeatedly attacked her when she gained popularity during her run.
“Now there are some people in our party now saying you know, Donald Trump wouldn’t be so bad,” she said to boos. “‘OK, maybe he’s a liberal, maybe he’s a fraud, but you know at least he’s a dealmaker, we can make deals with him.’ Here’s the thing: the truth is Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two sides of the same coin. They’re not going to reform the system. They are the system.”
Fiorina also disputed the notion that a contested convention is the way to stop Trump: “We’re going to have to beat Donald Trump at the ballot box. And the only guy who can beat Donald Trump is Ted Cruz.”
In a statement released by his campaign, Cruz said: “Carly speaks the truth with courage, doesn’t back down to the Washington powerbrokers, and terrifies Hillary and the Democrats. We are blessed to have her support, and together I am confident we will continue to unite conservatives so that every American has the opportunity to achieve the unimaginable.”