Cruz: Rubio not electable, Trump tied to the establishment
HOLLIS, N.H. — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas unveiled a new attack Wednesday against two of his main rivals in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primary, telling reporters that the establishment has begun backing businessman Donald Trump after deeming Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida unelectable.
“Right now, the Washington establishment is abandoning Marco Rubio,” Cruz told reporters before a rally here. “They’ve made the assessment that Marco cannot win, and the Washington establishment is rushing over to support Donald Trump.”
The attack is a two-fer because it questions Rubio’s ability to beat the Democratic nominee while tying Trump to the political and business elite that much of the GOP base deplores.
It also is noteworthy because Rubio has sought to cast himself as the most electable candidate, and Trump has framed himself as the most anti-establishment candidate.
The attack is yet another sign that Cruz is sharpening his rhetoric ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1 and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9.
Cruz, Trump and Rubio are widely seen as the leading candidates, with public polling showing the race in Iowa tight between Cruz and Trump and the New Hampshire electorate supporting Trump, with Cruz and Rubio in the next tier. A new CNN/WMUR poll out Wednesday evening showed Trump at 35 percent in New Hampshire, followed by Cruz at 15 percent and Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent.
The battle between former allies Cruz and Trump heated up Tuesday when Sarah Palin, a former Alaska governor and tea party heroine, endorsed Trump.
Cruz did not mention Palin in the news conference in which he only took two questions.
But he said elites increasingly are supporting Trump because “the Washington establishment knows who’s willing to keep the gravy train going, who’s willing to keep cutting deals and growing government.”
The rally here in Hollis, in the southern part of the state, drew a couple hundred people to a community center. It was 14th stop of a 16-city bus tour of the Granite State that is set to end Thursday.