Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday he’s in the 2016 GOP presidential race for the “distance” as long as he has a viable path to victory, and also said he believes Americans are not a “bitter, angry, petty, bigoted” group of people.
“I am in for the distance as long as we have a viable path to victory,” Mr. Cruz told reporters after a retail stop at a restaurant in Indiana. “I am competing to the end.”
Mr. Cruz had been asked if there was any circumstance under which he would drop from the race before the GOP convention in July.
He and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are now holding out hope that they can prevent front-runner Donald Trump from reaching the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination before the convention, and then swaying delegates after the first ballot at an open convention.
Most public polls have shown Mr. Trump with an edge over Mr. Cruz heading into the Indiana primary Tuesday, but Mr. Cruz said the polls have been “all over the place” and that it’s “neck and neck right now in the state of Indiana.”
“This is a fundamental decision for our nation, and I have tremendous faith in Hoosiers across this great state,” he said.
At a recent rally in the state, Mr. Cruz had mentioned the notion of giving into “evil” as he tried to fire up Indiana voters.
“I believe in the American people. I believe in the people of the Hoosier State,” Mr. Cruz said at the rally. “I believe in the men and women gathered here and the goodness of the American people, that we will not give into evil, but we will remember who we are and [we] will stand for our values.”
Mr. Cruz was asked Monday if he was referring to Mr. Trump with the “evil” comment.
“I trust the good people of Indiana to differentiate. We are not a country built on hatred,” Mr. Cruz said. “We are not a country built on anger [or] on pettiness. We are not a country built on bullying. We are not a country about selfishness.”
“No country in the history of the world has spilled more blood saving the lives of others preserving freedom than has America, and I’ll tell you my most fundamental belief — I believe in America,” he said.
“I believe in the American people,” Mr. Cruz continued. “We are not a bitter, angry, petty, bigoted people. That is not America. I reject that vision of America.”
“We are not an angry, ugly people,” he said. “The people of Indiana have good judgment, have good values. The people of Indiana are the heartland of this country — and we have a choice. We have a choice about our national character — who we will be. And I believe in the people of this nation with all my heart.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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