Former presidential candidate Ted Cruz declined Tuesday to say that he will support Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump, leaving open the possibility of restarting his own White House bid if he sees “a viable path to victory.”
Pressed by supporter Glenn Beck in an interview if he could consider jumping back into the 2016 race if he wins Tuesday’s nomination contest in Nebraska, Cruz said, “My assumption is that that will not happen.”
But, he added, “The reason we suspended the race last week was that with Indiana’s loss I didn’t see a viable path to victory. If that changes we will certainly respond accordingly.”
Tuesday afternoon the Texas senator was met by a throng of reporters when he returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and he faced more questions about whether his campaign is done for good.
“We have suspended the campaign because I can see no viable path to victory. Should that change, we would reconsider things,” Cruz said outside his Senate office. “But let’s be clear, we’re not going to win Nebraska today. There should be no mystery.”
Cruz added that he has “no interest” in pursuing a third party run.
And in both his interview with Beck and his gaggle with reporters, Cruz said voters should not rush to make a decision about supporting Trump.
“This is a choice every voter is going to have to make and I would note it’s not a choice we as the voters have to make today,” he said. Cruz exited the 2016 race last week after losing the primary contest in Indiana, a state his campaign had long painted as a must-win in order to stay the course. A win in Nebraska’s primary would not change Cruz’s chances of attaining the majority of delegates required to secure the GOP nod. Cruz has already been mathematically eliminated from reaching that threshold, while Trump is poised to easily surpass it. This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
Carrie Dann
Vaughn Hillyard is a senior White House reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
