Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is predicting GOP voters will stay home next November, if party insiders find some way to supplant one of the established candidates in a nomination fight.
While it’s possible that Cruz can pick up the delegates needed to pass front-runner Donald Trump in the race for the nomination, it’s also likely that no candidate will enter the party’s national convention this summer with the 1,237 votes necessary to clinch the nomination outright. That would lead to a contested convention in Cleveland, where some have predicted an outside choice may end up getting the nomination over one of the candidates already in the race.
During a stop in Madison Monday, Cruz called it a “fevered pipe dream” that some “white knight” would parachute in at the convention to save the Washington establishment. If that happened, Cruz predicted voters would say “the heck with you, we’re staying home” when the election rolls around next November.
AUDIO: Ted Cruz predicts fallout if GOP names another nominee (1:10)
Cruz continued traveling in Wisconsin Monday, as he hopes to turn a win in the state Tuesday into momentum for his campaign going forward. Recent polls show him leading front-runner Donald Trump and Ohio Governor John Kasich in the Badger State, which the Senator from Texas called a sign that Republicans are rallying behind one candidate. “What we are seeing happening in Wisconsin is the unity of the Republican Party manifested,” he said.
Also on the campaign trail Monday, Donald Trump made stops in La Crosse and Superior, with an evening rally planned in Milwaukee. During a town hall in La Crosse, the billionaire expressed confidence that Tuesday would bring a “very big victory” for his campaign. “Your vote is going to be very important tomorrow, because the world is watching Wisconsin,” Trump told supporters. “They’re seeing if this momentum from this incredible movement is going to be slowed down.”