Washington: In an unusual move, Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich have joined hands to try and stop front-runner Donald Trump from becoming the party nominee, drawing sharp reaction from the real estate tycoon who dismissed their move as an act of "desperation".
Shows how weak and desperate Lyin' Ted is when he has to team up with a guy who openly can't stand him and is only 1 win and 38 losses.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2016
Texas senator Cruz and Ohio governor Kasich issued statements that they would not compete with each other in several states to try and stop Trump from securing the necessary 1,237 delegates before the Cleveland convention in July which they hope would make it a contested convention and thus open up their paths to the White House.
"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 Governor Kasich to compete in Oregon and New Mexico, and we would hope that allies of both campaigns would follow our lead," Cruz's campaign manager Jeff Roe said in a statement. Kasich's campaign also issued a similar statement.
"Due to the fact that the Indiana primary is winner- takes-all statewide and by congressional district, keeping Trump from winning a plurality in Indiana is critical to keeping him under 1,237 bound delegates before Cleveland," said John Weaver, chief strategist for 'Kasich for America'.
"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," he said.
"In turn, we will focus our time and resources in New Mexico and Oregon, both areas that are structurally similar to the Northeast politically, where Governor Kasich is performing well," Weaver said.
Trump has so far won the support of 845 delegates while Cruz had 559. Kasich has just 147 delegates. Both Cruz and Kasich's campaigns asserted it is only they who are best suitable to get the party's nomination.
"Donald Trump doesn't have the support of a majority of Republicans not even close, but he currently does have almost half the delegates because he's benefited from the existing primary system. Our goal is to have an open convention in Cleveland, where we are confident a candidate capable of uniting the party and winning in November will emerge as the nominee," Weaver said.
"Having Donald Trump at the top of the ticket in November would be a sure disaster for Republicans. Not only would Trump get blown out by Clinton or Sanders, but having him as our nominee would set the party back a generation," Roe said.
Trump reacted tweeting "Wow, just announced that Lyin' Ted and Kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the Republican nomination. DESPERATION!," Trump said.
Wow, just announced that Lyin' Ted and Kasich are going to collude in order to keep me from getting the Republican nomination. DESPERATION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2016
"Lyin' Ted and Kasich are mathematically dead and totally desperate. Their donors & special interest groups are not happy with them. Sad!," he tweeted.
Lyin' Ted and Kasich are mathematically dead and totally desperate. Their donors & special interest groups are not happy with them. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2016
