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Fight for the right: Cruz and Rubio spar in Nevada to be Trump's challenger Fight for the right: Cruz and Rubio spar in Nevada to be Trump's challenger
(35 minutes later)
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio arrived in Nevada late on Sunday with distinctly different pitches for why each should be considered the most viable challenger to the Republican presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump.Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio arrived in Nevada late on Sunday with distinctly different pitches for why each should be considered the most viable challenger to the Republican presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump.
Related: Who are Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio?Related: Who are Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio?
The two first-term senators effectively tied in South Carolina’s primary at the weekend and are running short of time to stop Trump, who beat them both by a 10-point margin, from clinching the Republican nomination for the White House.The two first-term senators effectively tied in South Carolina’s primary at the weekend and are running short of time to stop Trump, who beat them both by a 10-point margin, from clinching the Republican nomination for the White House.
Both senators vowed that they were uniquely positioned to defeat the real estate mogul, but whereas Cruz focused his efforts on firing up Nevada’s rural, religious right, Rubio underscored the need for a more diverse coalition of conservatives reflective of a new generation.Both senators vowed that they were uniquely positioned to defeat the real estate mogul, but whereas Cruz focused his efforts on firing up Nevada’s rural, religious right, Rubio underscored the need for a more diverse coalition of conservatives reflective of a new generation.
Rubio, who was born in Nevada, a state in which close to half the population are minorities, talked about the support he received from South Carolina’s governor, Nikki Haley, and senator Tim Scott.Rubio, who was born in Nevada, a state in which close to half the population are minorities, talked about the support he received from South Carolina’s governor, Nikki Haley, and senator Tim Scott.
“I was on stage receiving the endorsement of an Indian American governor from South Carolina, who was endorsing a Cuban American senator from Florida, and I was standing next to the African American Republican senator from South Carolina.”“This is the face of the new conservative movement,” he told a couple of hundred supporters inside Texas Casino, a resort off the Las Vegas strip. “We are the party of everyone.” “I was on stage receiving the endorsement of an Indian American governor from South Carolina, who was endorsing a Cuban American senator from Florida, and I was standing next to the African American Republican senator from South Carolina.”
Cruz, a senator for Texas, headed straight to hammer-shaped Nye County, which is over 90% white. In Pahrump – with 37,000 or so residents, the region’s population center – he made a play for the state’s rural conservatives by promising that if was sworn in as president “the persecution of religious liberty ends today”.On a weekend that saw yet another mass shooting, Cruz also pledged to defend the second amendment while boasting of his support from the Gun Owners of America. He further warned, in a state with a sizable Latino population, of the need “to finally, finally, finally control the borders and end sanctuary cities”. “This is the face of the new conservative movement,” he told a couple of hundred supporters inside Texas Casino, a resort off the Las Vegas strip. “We are the party of everyone.”
Cruz, a senator for Texas, headed straight to hammer-shaped Nye County, which is over 90% white. In Pahrump – with 37,000 or so residents, the region’s population center – he made a play for the state’s rural conservatives by promising that if was sworn in as president “the persecution of religious liberty ends today”.
On a weekend that saw yet another mass shooting, Cruz also pledged to defend the second amendment while boasting of his support from the Gun Owners of America. He further warned, in a state with a sizable Latino population, of the need “to finally, finally, finally control the borders and end sanctuary cities”.
Related: Nevada Republicans raise questions about Trump's ground game in stateRelated: Nevada Republicans raise questions about Trump's ground game in state
In South Carolina on Saturday, Rubio inched just ahead of Cruz to clinch second place by less than a percentage point. Both candidates nonetheless paled in comparison with Trump, who scored a second consecutive overwhelming victory after the New Hampshire primary on 9 February.In South Carolina on Saturday, Rubio inched just ahead of Cruz to clinch second place by less than a percentage point. Both candidates nonetheless paled in comparison with Trump, who scored a second consecutive overwhelming victory after the New Hampshire primary on 9 February.
The real estate mogul holds a similarly commanding lead in Nevada, with the caucuses less than two days away, although surveying in the state is notoriously unreliable.Trump’s success has left neither Rubio nor Cruz where they had hoped to be at this stage of the race. Rubio, despite bouncing back somewhat from a poor showing in New Hampshire, has yet to win a primary. And Cruz, despite coming out on top of the Iowa caucuses, now faces questions over whether his evangelicals are as loyal to his campaign as had been expected.However, the maverick senator questions the Republican frontrunner’s support base. The real estate mogul holds a similarly commanding lead in Nevada, with the caucuses less than two days away, although surveying in the state is notoriously unreliable.
“Donald Trump has demonstrated that he has a relatively high floor of support,” Cruz said during a brief news conference in the back room of a smoky sports bar on State Route 160. “But he’s also got, I think, a ceiling.”“For folks who are concerned that Donald Trump is not the best candidate to go head-to-head with Hillary Clinton, it is becoming clearer and clearer that we are the one campaign that can beat Donald Trump. Indeed, we’re the only campaign that has beaten Donald Trump, in Iowa. And we will continue to go forward and beat him.”While he was consistently respectful of his billionaire rival, Cruz dismissed Rubio as an underachiever who had low-balled his prospects throughout the race.Cruz cited in particular an interview of Rubio’s with ABC’s This Week on Sunday, in which host George Stephanopoulos asked the Florida senator which state he thought he could win after losing all three early contests.“He said, ‘I think we could win Florida, March 15’,” Cruz recounted. “Now that’s a fairly amazing admission that they don’t believe they’re gonna win here in Nevada. Apparently they don’t believe they’re going to win any states on Super Tuesday.”“They’re writing off March 5. They’re writing off March 8. And they’re trying to wait, apparently, until March 15 to finally win a state,” Cruz added. “And I would point out even in Florida, his home state, he’s right now polling in third place, behind both Donald and me.”Rubio’s campaign sought to drive home the opposite message: that it was Cruz who had been left bruised after falling short in a state tailor-made for his evangelical appeal.“If Ted Cruz can do no better than third place in a state like South Carolina where 73% of the electorate described themselves as ‘born-again or evangelical Christian’, where else can he win?” Rubio’s campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, wrote in a memo on Sunday. Rubio, for his part, charted a path to victory contingent upon winnowing the field and consolidating support behind his candidacy. With former Florida governor Jeb Bush suspending his campaign after South Carolina, Rubio said during an interview with CNN on Sunday, the dynamic was “beginning to shift”.“That is what gives us an opportunity to coalesce and bring together Republicans who understand that we have to nominate someone who will unify our party, who will reach out to people that haven’t voted for us and grow our party and ultimately who can win.”The Florida senator struck upon similar themes while rallying with supporters across three states on Sunday – with stops in Nashville, Tennessee, Little Rock, Arkansas, and finally Las Vegas. Framing himself as the most viable general election candidate, Rubio spoke defiantly of his ability to challenge Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.“If you nominate me, we will win this election,” he said. Trump’s success has left neither Rubio nor Cruz where they had hoped to be at this stage of the race. Rubio, despite bouncing back somewhat from a poor showing in New Hampshire, has yet to win a primary. And Cruz, despite coming out on top of the Iowa caucuses, now faces questions over whether his evangelicals are as loyal to his campaign as had been expected.
However, the maverick senator questions the Republican frontrunner’s support base.
“Donald Trump has demonstrated that he has a relatively high floor of support,” Cruz said during a brief news conference in the back room of a smoky sports bar on State Route 160. “But he’s also got, I think, a ceiling.”
“For folks who are concerned that Donald Trump is not the best candidate to go head-to-head with Hillary Clinton, it is becoming clearer and clearer that we are the one campaign that can beat Donald Trump. Indeed, we’re the only campaign that has beaten Donald Trump, in Iowa. And we will continue to go forward and beat him.”
While he was consistently respectful of his billionaire rival, Cruz dismissed Rubio as an underachiever who had low-balled his prospects throughout the race.
Cruz cited in particular an interview of Rubio’s with ABC’s This Week on Sunday, in which host George Stephanopoulos asked the Florida senator which state he thought he could win after losing all three early contests.
“He said, ‘I think we could win Florida, March 15’,” Cruz recounted. “Now that’s a fairly amazing admission that they don’t believe they’re gonna win here in Nevada. Apparently they don’t believe they’re going to win any states on Super Tuesday.”
“They’re writing off March 5. They’re writing off March 8. And they’re trying to wait, apparently, until March 15 to finally win a state,” Cruz added. “And I would point out even in Florida, his home state, he’s right now polling in third place, behind both Donald and me.”
Rubio’s campaign sought to drive home the opposite message: that it was Cruz who had been left bruised after falling short in a state tailor-made for his evangelical appeal.
“If Ted Cruz can do no better than third place in a state like South Carolina where 73% of the electorate described themselves as ‘born-again or evangelical Christian’, where else can he win?” Rubio’s campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, wrote in a memo on Sunday.
Rubio, for his part, charted a path to victory contingent upon winnowing the field and consolidating support behind his candidacy. With former Florida governor Jeb Bush suspending his campaign after South Carolina, Rubio said during an interview with CNN on Sunday, the dynamic was “beginning to shift”.
“That is what gives us an opportunity to coalesce and bring together Republicans who understand that we have to nominate someone who will unify our party, who will reach out to people that haven’t voted for us and grow our party and ultimately who can win.”
The Florida senator struck upon similar themes while rallying with supporters across three states on Sunday – with stops in Nashville, Tennessee, Little Rock, Arkansas, and finally Las Vegas. Framing himself as the most viable general election candidate, Rubio spoke defiantly of his ability to challenge Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
“If you nominate me, we will win this election,” he said.