On April 5, presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz seemed to have beaten the odds. He had won Wisconsin. Old rivals were supporting him. He was dominating delegate elections, putting him in the position to be in a serious floor fight at the 2016 Republican National Convention in July, as the campaign of Donald Trump fell into internal disarray.
But, that all came crashing down on May 3 when Cruz ended his campaign after his loss in Indiana terminated any chance of denying Trump the nomination.
“Together, we left it all on the field in Indiana,” Cruz said to a crowd of supporters. “We gave it everything we’ve got, but the voters chose another path. Tonight, I am sorry to say it appears that path has been closed.”
Cruz, a Tea Party favorite, had hoped to cobble together a winning coalition by consolidating evangelical and libertarian wings of the Republican Party while also racking up commanding wins in the South. But, Cruz failed to achieve any of those things.
Cruz’s final weeks as a presidential candidate were full of, for lack of a better word, awkward moments. He formed an alliance with Ohio Gov. John Kasich that ended before it really even started. Cruz then went on to name Carly Fiorina as his running mate, an odd move for someone who is far from winning the nomination. Later, Cruz was ridiculed for failing to notice Fiorina falling off of a stage in front of him.
Yet, Cruz still outlasted more than a dozen Republican rivals demolished by Trump. An early strategy for Cruz was to just play nice. The Texas senator created this image as the ultimate outsider in Washington. But, Cruz relied heavily on the notion that Trump’s candidacy would implode because of all the remarks that went too far or actions that American voters deemed not presidential.
That never happened.
In the end, Cruz said he was proud of his campaign and his stand for conservative principles. There is no word yet on whether he will pledge his support to another Republican nominee.