Cruz: ‘I am in for the distance’

by Ben Kamisar - 05/02/16 11:23 AM ET

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said his campaign “absolutely” has a path to victory if he loses Tuesday’s Indiana primary, lowering expectations as front-runner Donald Trump continues to lead him in the polls in the pivotal contest.

While the Texas senator added his campaign is working to do “everything possible to win tomorrow,” Cruz would not commit to whether he’d keep his campaign doors open if he loses Indiana.

{mosads}“I am in for the distance, as long as we have a viable path to victory,” he told reporters Monday in Indiana.

“I am competing to the end, and the reason is simple: This isn’t about me, it isn’t about Donald Trump, it isn’t about any of the candidates, it’s about our country and our future.”

A big win in Indiana is seen as essential as Cruz struggles to stave off Trump’s run at locking up the GOP nomination before the Republican National Convention in July. But the Texas senator currently trails Trump by 8 points in RealClearPolitics’s average of recent state polling.

The Cruz camp is acutely aware of the dire straights and previously highlighted the importance of Indiana before Monday’s tamping down of expectations.

A Thursday night fundraising pitch to supporters called Indiana “absolutely pivotal.”

“I can’t emphasize enough how important the vote in Indiana is going to be, and frankly, it could be the deciding factor,” he wrote in the email pitch.

“If Trump wins all the delegates in Indiana, his nomination could be all but determined.”

Trump sits 241 delegates short of clinching the nomination, according to The Associated Press’s estimates. If he wins Indiana, he’ll have to win as little as 41 percent of remaining delegates, depending on his margin. But if he loses, that number could go up as high as 54 percent.

Tags Donald Trump Ted Cruz