Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters in Kansas he would have suspended his presidential campaign if he had lost his home state on Super Tuesday.
Cruz won Texas with the support of more than 40 percent of all votes cast, but said he had prepared for the worst case scenario.
“I was the one who asked the team, I said, “Alright, what if we lose Texas? What if we get clobbered everywhere?” Cruz told reporters. “Listen, everyone recognizes Donald Trump is a unique phenomenon. And we were encouraged by internal numbers, but you know I asked the team alright what do we do if we lose Texas? And we had reached the conclusion if we had lost Texas that would have been the end of the road.
I don’t think a candidate has a viable path forward if you can’t win your home state. In my case, the state of Texas has been home to me almost my entire life. The men and women of Texas are people I made promises to, I promised that I would go to Washington and fight for them.
“If last night, the voters of Texas had made a different decision, I would have had no choice but to suspend the campaign and focus on alright how can we change the direction this country is going.”
Cruz’s candid remarks about how seriously he took the Lone Star State’s results come in the aftermath of a report that his chief strategist informed donors of the exit plan that existed before the Texas ballots were counted.
The Texas senator also sought to raise the importance of winning his constituents’ ballots as his opponents’ home states have yet to cast their votes. The home states of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich vote on March 15, and could signal the end of the road for either Rubio or Kasich if they do not win.
