Romney to vote for Cruz in Utah caucuses

Published 3:24 pm Friday, March 18, 2016

By American Press Staff

<span class="RACopyBody">Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Friday he will vote for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the upcoming caucuses in his home state of Utah, intensifying his attack against front-runner Donald Trump.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">"There is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism," Romney wrote on his official Facebook page. "Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these."</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Responding on Twitter, Trump noted that Romney had previously supported the candidacies of Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. "Mitt Romney is a mixed up man who doesn’t have a clue," Trump wrote. "No wonder he lost!"</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Kasich tried to brush off Romney’s endorsement of Cruz.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">"This is his view and he’s entitled to it. Frankly, I don’t think anybody’s going to have enough delegates to get to the convention," Kasich said after a town hall in Orem, Utah, on Friday. "This is really about who we want to run the country. This is not a parlor game."</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Romney delivered a scathing attack on Trump in a speech at the University of Utah earlier this month, in which he called Trump "a phony" who is "playing the American public for suckers."</span>

Email newsletter signup

<span class="RACopyBody">A number of Republican officials have shown their support for Cruz in recent days while falling short of endorsing the senator, who is currently in second place in the race for the GOP nomination. On Thursday, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he would help Cruz’s fundraising efforts but stopped short of offering his endorsement to his senate colleague.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Romney also said in his statement Friday that he likes Kasich, who currently trails both Trump and Cruz, but said "a vote for Gov. Kasich in future contests makes it extremely likely that Trumpism would prevail."</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Utah is one of four contests scheduled for Tuesday. Early polling shows Cruz leading among the state’s predominantly Mormon voters.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Trump currently leads his rivals, having won 678 delegates in contests held thus far, according to a count by The Associated Press. Cruz is in second place with 423 delegates, and Kasich is in third with 143.</span>

<span class="RACopyBody">Needed to win: 1,237.</span>””<p>Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney meets with attendees at a Republican presidential candidate</p>Matt Rourke””<p>Ohio Gov. John Kasich campaign stop on Monday</p>David J. Phillip

You Might Like