Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich have made the unusual step of teaming up in the remaining primaries in order to block GOP front-runner Donald Trump from getting the nomination. Trump tweeted the move was an act of "desparation" and "sad." Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI |
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LOS ANGELES, April 25 (UPI) -- The Ted Cruz and John Kasich campaigns are joining forces in the upcoming primaries to block GOP front-runner Donald Trump from getting the necessary delegates to win the nomination outright, the campaigns announced Sunday.
The two campaigns issued statements minutes apart announcing they would divide their efforts -- essentially yielding certain states to the other -- in order to increase their chances of victory in particular states and grab as many delegates as they can in order to keep Trump from getting the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination.
"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," Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Kasich strategist, John Weaver, said because Indiana is a winner-take-all contest, "keeping Trump from winning a plurality in Indiana is critical to keeping him under 1,237 bound delegates before Cleveland.
"We are very comfortable with our delegate position in Indiana already, and given the current dynamics of the primary there, we will shift our campaign's resources West and give the Cruz campaign a clear path in Indiana." Weaver said in a separate statement.
Trump quickly tweeted, "Wow, just announced that Lyin' Ted and Kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the Republican nomination. DESPERATION!" Then added: "Lyin' Ted and Kasich are mathematically dead and totally desperate. Their donors & special interest groups are not happy with them. Sad!"
The candidates agreement is a nod to how far ahead Trump is, and utilizes each campaign's last best opportunity to at least force a contested convention in Cleveland this summer.
