In an interview Fox News appears to be mostly keeping under wraps thus far, Ted Cruz told Fox News reporter James Rosen that his campaign has already begun making preparations for a contested convention:
.@tedcruz tells me his campaign has begun to "make preparations" for a contested @GOP convention. #FNPolitics
— James Rosen (@JamesRosenFNC) March 16, 2016
Ted Cruz also tells Rosen that he still believes it’s possible for him to win the nomination outright:
.@tedcruz tells me the math of @politico, et al. that he needs to win 80% of remaining delegates is "roughly right" and "of course" he can.
— James Rosen (@JamesRosenFNC) March 16, 2016
And here’s a couple of remaining tweets about the interview:
Asked why he's lost 9 of 10 Southern states — once his "firewall" — @tedcruz tells me @realDonaldTrump is "a unique creature" in politics.
— James Rosen (@JamesRosenFNC) March 16, 2016
.@tedcruz tells me he won't go "on bended knee, with my hat in hand" to Mitch McConnell to unify @GOP against @realDonaldTrump. #FNPolitics
— James Rosen (@JamesRosenFNC) March 16, 2016
I did find portions of the interview that have already aired on Fox News this morning and you can watch them below. They include the parts where Cruz told Rosen that he can still win and that he’s not going to apologize to Mitch McConnell:
It makes sense that Cruz would be preparing for a contested convention because at this point, with Kasich staying in the race, he will continue keep Trump on top but may also syphon enough delegates that between he and Cruz that Trump can’t outright win.
Or he may end up hurting Cruz more and more and Trump wins everything. It’s a big gamble him staying in the race, one that may very well give the election to Trump.