Lukmon Oloyede
Concerted opposition to Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s candidacy, Ted Cruz and John Kasich are teaming against him through a deal to divide three states in hopes of defeating Trump in each and denying him delegates to claim the Republican nomination without a convention fight.
The Texas senator and Ohio governor announced an unprecedented deal in which Kasich will not contest Indiana while Cruz will steer clear of Oregon and New Mexico to maximize chances to beating Trump in each state and denying him the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the Republican nomination that he seems sure to lose if he can’t claim it on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in July.
“Having Donald Trump at the top of the ticket in November would be a sure disaster for Republicans,” Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe said in statement Sunday night. “To ensure that we nominate a Republican who can unify the Republican Party and win in November, our campaign will focus its time and resources in Indiana and in turn clear the path for Gov. Kasich
to compete in Oregon and New Mexico, and we would hope that allies of both campaigns would follow our lead.”
The Kasich campaign also released a statement on Sunday, making clear the two campaigns cut a deal.
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