Ted Cruz named Carly Fiorina as has running mate at a rally in Indianapolis on Wednesday in a dramatic and unusual move that was a clear effort to change momentum in the Republican race.
Cruz had teased the media of a major announcement to be made later in the day, and news leaked out in the afternoon that he would name Fiorina as his vice presidential pick.
{mosads}It’s the first time since 1976 that a Republican running for the Oval Office has picked a running mate before the convention.
Cruz highlighted Fiorina’s business background, describing her as a pioneer.
“Carly is brilliant and capable, and yet she experienced the hardscrabble world of being a female professional,” Cruz said on the podium, where he was surrounded mostly by women.
“Over and over again, Carly has shattered glass ceilings. But in addition to being a woman of extraordinary experience, she’s also a woman of deep principle.”
Following Cruz’s speech, Fiorina took the stage as supporters passed around Cruz/Fiorina ’16 signs.
“This is the fight of our time, and I believe Ted Cruz is the man to lead that fight,” she said. “And I am prepared to stand by his side and give this everything I have to restore the soul of the party, to defeat Donald Trump, to defeat Hillary Clinton, and take our country back.”
Fiorina went on to repeatedly bash
Trump and said that both he and
Clinton “would be disastrous for this nation.”
Trump defeated Cruz in the New York primary last week and in five East Coast primaries on Tuesday.
The victories have given him new momentum, and left many wondering whether Cruz can still force a contested convention.
Cruz desperately needs a win in Indiana next week to keep his hopes alive. There’s been minimal polling in the Hoosier State, but one
poll from last week found Trump ahead of Cruz by single digits.
Fiorina listed Cruz’s accomplishments, saying he “fought for our religious liberty, fought for our right to bear arms, fought over and over in front of the Supreme Court … and he’s won all those fights.”
“The only way you solve festering problems is you actually have to challenge the status quo,” she continued. “You make enemies. So I’m reassured and proud of some of the enemies Ted Cruz has made. It means he’s going to fight.”
Reporters on the scene in Indianapolis said Cruz-Fiorina ’16 signs were already being handed out as Cruz spoke, and one appeared on the podium after Cruz made the announcement official.
Fiorina has served as a loyal Cruz surrogate and often ties Trump to Clinton on the trail.
Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are mathematically eliminated from winning the nomination on the first ballot.
The two GOP hopefuls forged an alliance Sunday night in an effort to stop Trump from clinching the nomination outright. In the deal, Kasich would cease campaigning in Indiana and Cruz would forgo efforts in Oregon and New Mexico.
Nearly an hour before Cruz’s rally, Trump knocked Cruz’s announcement, calling his efforts “
a pure waste of time.”
“The people of Indiana are very smart — they will see through this just like they saw through the already failed Kasich alliance,” Trump said in a statement. “Cruz has no path to victory — he is only trying to stay relevant.”
— Updated at 5:24 p.m.
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