FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL nominee Mitt Romney say he will vote for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the upcoming caucuses in his home state of Utah, intensifying his attack against front-runner Donald Trump.
“There is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism,” Romney wrote on his Facebook page, adding that he thinks the best chance for Trump to be beaten is at a contested convention.
An outcome Romney argues is more likely if Cruz keeps taking delegates away from Trump.
Responding on Twitter, Trump noted that Romney had previously supported the candidacies of Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Kasich tried to brush off Romney’s endorsement of Cruz.
“This is his view and he’s entitled to it. Frankly, I don’t think anybody’s going to have enough delegates to get to the convention,” Kasich said after a town hall meeting in Utah.
This is really about who we want to run the country. This is not a parlor game.
Romney delivered a scathing attack on Trump in a speech earlier this month, in which he called Trump “a phoney” who is “playing the American public for suckers.”
A number of Republican officials have shown their support for Cruz in recent days while falling short of endorsing the senator, who is currently in second place in the race for the GOP nomination.
On Thursday, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said he would help Cruz’s fundraising efforts but stopped short of offering his endorsement to his senate colleague.
Utah is one of four contests scheduled for Tuesday. Early polling shows Cruz leading among the state’s predominantly Mormon voters.
Trump currently leads his rivals, having won 678 delegates in contests held thus far. Cruz is in second place with 423 delegates, and Kasich is in third with 143.
The candidates 1,237 delegates to win outright.
- With reporting by Rónán Duffy
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