Cruz Says GOP Doomed to Lose If Romney Heads 2016 Ticket
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — Senator Ted Cruz told Tea Party activists that if the GOP sticks with moderate presidential candidates, the party can expect to lose the White House again next year.
In a speech late Sunday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Texas Republican referred to previous nominees Mitt Romney, John McCain and Bob Dole as “good, honorable and decent men.” However, Cruz said they lost to Democrats because they weren’t conservative enough for the GOP base.
With Romney making noises about a 2016 run, Cruz warned that conservatives will stay home if he heads the ticket, thus handing the election to whomever the Democrat choose to run next year.
Cruz has made no secret that he hungers for higher office, although he has been less active than Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, another Tea Party darling, at establishing a springboard for a possible run in 2016.
Roundly criticized by both parties for spurring the partial government shutdown in October 2013, Cruz suggested that his efforts were vindicated by last year’s midterm elections, in which the Republicans regained control of the Senate and solidified their hold on the House.
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