Cruz: Don't Throw Away Your Vote on Rubio or Kasich

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz used a campaign stop in Rockford, IL to drive home his belief that a vote for Ohio Gov. John Kasich or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is a vote wasted.

“With John Kasich, it’s real simple: It’s mathematically impossible for him to become the nominee,” Cruz said Monday. “He cannot beat Donald Trump, so a vote for John Kasich or a vote for Marco Rubio is a vote that’s thrown away.”

Cruz is second place in national poll averages with 21.8 percent to Trump’s 36 percent, according to Real Clear Politics. Cruz is coming up third, however, in Florida and Ohio, the home states of Rubio and Kasich, respectively. Five states, including Florida and Ohio, and 365 delegates, are up for grabs on Tuesday.

“John Kasich would take greater than one hundred percent of the delegates to go on and have a path to winning,” Cruz said Monday. “Math actually matters.”

The current delegate count stands at 460 for Trump, 370 for Cruz, 163 for Rubio and 63 for Kasich. A candidate needs 1,237 to win the nomination. So far, 1,056 delegates are tied up with another 1,416 still on the table.

“We’ve had over twenty states vote. Governor Kasich has won zero,” Cruz said. “When you go 0-for-23, that does not pose a path to going forward and winning. We’ve got to win.”

Cruz also gave a glimpse into what his presidential cabinet might look like.

“I could absolutely see a place for Marco Rubio and for John Kasich in an administration,” Cruz said. “They’re talented, smart, serious leaders. They’re people who I came into this race respecting and came out of the race respecting even more.”