Sen. Marco Rubio said in a new interview that Sen. Ted Cruz is the only GOP presidential candidate still actively campaigning that fits the criteria of what Mr. Rubio looking for in a “conservative” as the Republican nominee.
“I’ve been pretty clear that I want the Republican nominee to be a conservative, and in my view at this moment, of the candidates that are still actively campaigning, the only one that fits that criteria is Ted Cruz. I’ve said that publicly,” Mr. Rubio said in an interview with radio host Mark Levin on “LevinTV.”
Mr. Rubio said something similar to Minnesota supporters shortly after he suspended his campaign last month, calling Mr. Cruz “the only conservative left in the race,” according to the Pioneer Press.
The Florida senator has worked to preserve the delegates he accumulated during the primary, and actually leads Ohio Gov. John Kasich on that front. That means even if Mr. Rubio doesn’t end up as a dark horse candidate, he could be somewhat of a power broker at the GOP convention in July.
“As far as the delegates that we’ve earned, look, they’re bound on the first ballot, and I want to make sure that they’re there on the first ballot,” Mr. Rubio said. “After that, as you know, these delegates, many of them, will be free to vote for another candidate, and I hope that they’ll nominate a conservative.”
“As I’ve asked these state parties, I want those delegates to still be bound on the first ballot, and we’ll see what happens after that,” he said.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said definitively on Tuesday that he will not be the Republican presidential nominee this year. Mr. Ryan, who as speaker serves as chairman of the party’s July convention, also encouraged GOP delegates to pass a rule saying the nominee has to be someone who ran for president.
Asked by NBC News whether that could include people like Mr. Rubio, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, or former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who have all suspended their campaigns, Mr. Ryan said: “I’m not going to foreclose anybody’s option.”
“You have to be one of the candidates running for president — who ran for president,” Mr. Ryan said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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