Why Did Cruz Lose?

Matt Purple

Politics, United States

The Texas senator falls to Trump in Indiana.

Ted Cruz surprised just about everyone when he announced his running mate last week. The Republican he selected was Carly Fiorina, but it may as well have been Tim Tebow, given just how frantic a Hail Mary it was. Pity Fiorina: she was the veep pick for only one week before Cruz shuttered his presidential campaign. Even Richard Schweiker, Ronald Reagan’s running mate in 1976 who was also elevated in the hopes of securing a primary victory, lasted longer than that.

And so it goes. The final blow was a stinging loss in Indiana last night that saw Donald Trump win more than 53 percent of Hoosiers, who were long assumed to be at the very heart of Cruz Country. After Cruz bowed out, Trump strode to a podium for an uncharacteristically muted victory speech in which he praised to the moon the man for whom he’d invented the epithet “Lyin’ Ted.” As of last night, Cruz was “one hell of a competitor” and a “tough, smart guy” with an “amazing future.” There were other admirable Republican contenders, Trump reminded us, such as—just picking names out of a hat here—Chris Christie, “who endorsed me,” and Ben Carson, “who endorsed me.”

Whether Cruz will take Trump’s blindingly obvious hint and support the man who mocked his wife’s physical appearance and suggested his father played a role in the assassination of John F. Kennedy remains to be seen. Whatever the case, his decision to exit stage right seems politically sensible. As Rare Politics’ Kevin Boyd pointed out yesterday, all Trump needs after an Indiana victory is “to win New Jersey and West Virginia, get 35-40 percent in New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington state, and win around 20 of California’s 53 congressional districts.” Even with Cruz in the race, that was almost certain to happen.