Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is more comfortable with a contested convention than a brokered convention that’s decided by power brokers in July.
In an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, Cruz explained his reasoning for welcoming a fight on the floor of the GOP convention.
“A contested convention is a different thing where you go, if no one gets 1,237 [delegates] and you’ve got two front-runners, look Reagan and Ford battled it out in a contested convention. That’s what conventions are for,” Cruz told Fox News. “If you’re fighting between the candidates who have earned the votes of the people, and it’s the delegates at the convention who’ve been elected to do that. That’s the way the system works.”
The senator has previously expressed reservations about a ‘brokered’ convention and said it would bring about a “manifest revolt,” which caused Fox News to label Cruz’s new remarks as a ‘revision.’ But a brokered convention would involve GOP power brokers settling the convention, whereas Cruz wants the selected delegates to choose from the candidates who make it to a contested convention, so Cruz’s statements do not necessarily conflict.
Some political commentators have speculated that the Republican Party could change its rules to lessen the criteria necessary to compete in a contested convention, and thus influence the nomination from outside the formal voting process.
As insurgent candidates Donald Trump and Cruz continue to run the table in the primaries, the Republican Party’s leadership may begin exploring all options to shape the nomination this summer.
