HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Texas Sen. [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore] told reporters at the Republican National Committee Meeting Wednesday that Donald Trump is a “niche candidate” who will have problems in upcoming primaries west of the Mississippi River.
“I recognize that last night was a good night for Donald. It also surprised nobody,” Cruz said about Trump’s landslide victory in his home state of New York. Cruz later added, “What is clear today is that we are headed toward a contested convention,” noting that “Donald is on a path to losing the nomination.”
Trump touted his primary win Tuesday night saying it is “mathematically impossible” for Cruz to win the nomination before the convention at this point. Cruz argued, however, his bet bet is to beat Trump at a contested convention, where he believes Trump will not get the majority of delegate support on the first ballot.
When asked by reporters about the upcoming primaries on the East Coast, where Trump is substantially ahead, the Texas Republican referenced his past five wins to show he is a viable candidate to take on the New York billionaire.
“You have to earn the support of the majority of the delegates and we are on the path to doing that and Donald is on the path to losing the nomination. All of his bluster and all of his bravado is designed to hide that simple fact,” he said.
Cruz explained, “It is designed to hide the simple fact that over the past four weeks prior to last night five states have voted. Utah, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Wyoming – – and we won landslides and all of them,” Cruz said, noting that over 1.3 million people voted in those states–more than those who cast ballots in New York.
He later said, “Donald has had great difficulty winning west of the Mississippi River.”
Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe told reporters, however, that the campaign will continue to run a “national campaign.”
“We’re gonna be doing everything we’ve been doing which is campaign in every state aggressively. We’ve been criticized for staying in states for too long that we can’t win or that we already had won. And we believe we can’t run a national campaign if you can’t compete nationally,” Roe said.
“The speculation of a convention now is less than a speculation. It’s highly likely. It’s highly that the delegates we see in Cleveland are gonna have an impact on who the Republican president is,” he added.