Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is dismissing his third-place finish and Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s New York primary, calling it an outlier that does not predict how upcoming states will vote.
“Let me tell you what Trump and the media want to convince everyone — that Pennsylvania is a suburb of Manhattan … Manhattan has spoken and Pennsylvania will quietly follow into obedience,” Cruz said to boos during a Wednesday rally in Hershey, Pa.
{mosads}”You know, I’ve got a lot more faith in the people of Pennsylvania,” Cruz added, touting his connections to the state by noting that his sister lives in Philadelphia and his nephew works at a chocolate factory in the state.
Pennsylvania’s 71 delegates are the most delegates up for grabs in all five states holding primaries next week. “We’re going to take them,” the Texas senator said.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump declared in a tweet that Cruz could now only play “spoiler” in the GOP race after the businessman won 89 of the 95 delegates up for grabs in New York.
The AP reported that Cruz is mathematically unable to win the nomination without a contested convention in July.
“As the media are breathlessly reporting, Donald Trump won his home,” Cruz said dismissively of Trump’s win in New York.
“Truly a remarkable achievement,” he deadpanned.
“Upon winning his home state, Donald — with a characteristic display of humility — declared, ‘This race is over. Manhattan has spoken,’ ” Cruz added.
Cruz sought to characterize Trump’s win by highlighting the fact that there are fewer Republican voters in the Empire State than in other states in the West, Midwest and South that have voted.
“I won 13,000 more votes in Wisconsin than Donald Trump did last night in New York,” Cruz said. “We won more than twice as many votes in Texas than Donald did in New York.
“There’s a reason Donald wants all the lapdogs in the media to say that the race is over,” Cruz said, noting he had won five straight contests before the New York primary.
Trump blasted those wins as part of a “rigged” system, because they largely relied on conventions over simpler primary systems. Cruz on Wednesday dismissed those criticisms.
He said, “1.3 million people voted in those five states,” speaking to the differences of the five states that included Colorado, which he noted “just legalized pot.”
Cruz surrogate Carly Fiorina also downplayed Trump’s New York win shortly before Cruz took the stage, calling it “kind of important.”
“Even John Kasich won his home state,” Fiorina said, before noting that the Ohio governor “lost again” in New York.