GOP primaries

Cruz floats restarting campaign if he wins Nebraska primary

Ted Cruz floated the possibility of restarting his presidential campaign if he wins Nebraska’s GOP primary on Tuesday and avoided saying whether he supports Donald Trump’s bid for president.
 
Cruz, who suspended his White House run last week, said he does not expect to win Nebraska’s primary but is leaving the door open.
 
{mosads}”We launched this campaign intending to win. The reason we suspended our campaign was that with the Indiana loss, I felt there was no path to victory,” he said Tuesday on conservative host Glenn Beck’s radio program. 
 
“If that changes, we will certainly respond accordingly.”
 
Cruz demurred on supporting Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, because the Republican National Convention and general election are still months away.
 
“This is a choice every voter is going to have to make. I would note, it’s not a choice we as voters have to make today,” Cruz said when asked about supporting Trump. 
 
He also brushed aside the prospects of a convention fight or third-party presidential bid. 
 
Cruz and allies told supporters Monday night call that they would not try to block Trump’s nomination but instead focus on influencing the party’s platform and rules, according to Politico.
 
Cruz joins a number of prominent Republicans who have said they are not yet supporting Trump for president.

Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and former GOP presidential nominees Mitt Romney and John McCain have all decided not to attend the party’s convention in July, an apparent rebuke of Trump. 

And House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said last week he was not ready to endorse Trump, adding he needed assurances that Trump would champion conservative ideas. 

Cruz dropped out of the presidential race last week after losing big in Indiana’s primary. John Kasich dropped out a day later, clearing the way for Trump to become the presumptive nominee. 

Cruz had hoped a win in Indiana could give him momentum into Tuesday’s Nebraska contest, but Trump emerged from the Hoosier State as the only candidate with a viable path forward.

 
Updated at 12:13 p.m.