Ahead of Tuesday’s election contests in Arizona and Utah, former Massachusetts Gov. and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has recorded robocalls on behalf of Sen. Ted Cruz that urge voters to support Mr. Cruz in the two states.
“Hello, this is Mitt Romney,” one call begins. “And I’m calling to ask you to join me in supporting Ted Cruz for president this Tuesday in the Utah Republican caucuses. This is the time for Republicans across the spectrum to unite behind Ted. He is the only Republican candidate who can defeat Donald Trump, and at this point a vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump.
“Ted Cruz has spent his life defending the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and he’ll fight to bring back jobs to America and raise wages for everyone. Ted will be a strong commander in chief who will keep America safe,” Mr. Romney says.
“I’ll be voting for Ted Cruz this Tuesday, and I’d encourage you to do the same thing,” Mr. Romney says.
The Arizona calls are going out Monday and the Utah calls on Tuesday, according to the Cruz campaign.
Mr. Romney announced Friday he would be voting for Mr. Cruz in Utah, saying he likes Mr. Kasich but that a vote for the Ohio governor in future nominating contests “makes it extremely likely that Trumpism would prevail.”
Mr. Cruz got another boost on Monday when Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said he was joining Mr. Romney and voting for Mr. Cruz.
“Ted Cruz is a consistent conservative who understands the importance of federalism. I’m confident he will work to limit the federal government when it comes to education, public lands and other issues where states can do better than the federal government,” Mr. Herbert said in a statement on his Facebook page.
Recent polling has given Mr. Trump an edge in Arizona and Mr. Cruz an advantage in Utah. There are 58 delegates up for grabs in Arizona, which is winner-take-all for Republicans. Utah, meanwhile, has 40 delegates at stake and is winner-take-all if the victor wins more than 50 percent of the vote.
The delegates will be distributed proportionally if nobody gets above 50 percent in Utah, with a minimum 15 percent threshold to receive delegates. Allies of Mr. Cruz have argued that votes for Mr. Kasich would simply serve to benefit Mr. Trump, as they would work against Mr. Cruz’s bid to clear the 50 percent mark.
Speaking on CNN’s “New Day,” Mr. Kasich said Monday he’s not a “spoiler” and that his presence in the race denied Mr. Trump a crucial win in Ohio.
“So I’m not going anywhere. Am I a spoiler? Of course I’m not a spoiler,” Mr. Kasich said. “Go ask the people that come to my rallies. What they say is thank God you’re giving us some hope that this country can be improved. So I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to keep working. We’re gaining momentum. I’m getting known and all things are good.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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