The campaign is beginning to turn to the question of running mates. As we earlier reported, Donald Trump said he likes Marco Rubio, and would consider him as a running mate, along with John Kasich, and Scott Walker. Now, the question is, what will Rubio do?
Rubio originally said he wanted his delegates to stick with him, according to RedState.
When presidential candidates suspend their campaigns, typically their delegates become free to support the candidate of their own choosing at the convention. Rubio, however, has quietly been reaching out to party officials with a different approach.
He is personally asking state parties in 21 states and territories to refrain from releasing any of the 172 delegates he won while campaigning this year, MSNBC has learned.
And, in March, Rubio said “no way” to being anyone’s veep.
Rubio ruled out a “unity ticket” as vice president to Cruz — or to anyone else, for that matter: “I’m not going to be anybody’s vice president.”
But Cruz may still want him, according to the Washington Times.
“Look, anyone would naturally look at Marco as one of the people who would be a terrific person to consider for VP. And we’re in the process now of considering a number of different options,” Mr. Cruz said at a CNN town hall Wednesday evening.
“He would be someone that you would be a fool not to look at seriously. He’s very, very talented,” Mr. Cruz said.
Originally, Rubio seemed to hope that he could hold onto his delegates and be considered as a compromise candidate at the convention. After all, he still has more delegates than John Kasich. However, he’s losing them.
The Florida senator’s strategy is hitting some turbulence, NBC News has learned, because several state parties have determined Rubio does not get to hold onto all his delegates.
Only 34 of the 172 delegates Rubio won in the primaries will be immediately up for grabs on the first ballot in Cleveland. That development is opening up a fierce competition to win these lapsed Rubio delegates, which are located in Oklahoma, Minnesota and Louisiana.
Maybe that explains why Rubio has been so “chummy” with Cruz lately, according to the Washington Times.
Sen. Marco Rubio said in a new interview that Sen. Ted Cruz is the only GOP presidential candidate still actively campaigning that fits the criteria of what Mr. Rubio looking for in a “conservative” as the Republican nominee.
“I’ve been pretty clear that I want the Republican nominee to be a conservative, and in my view at this moment, of the candidates that are still actively campaigning, the only one that fits that criteria is Ted Cruz. I’ve said that publicly,” Mr. Rubio said in an interview with radio host Mark Levin on “LevinTV.”
But. . .now, Rubio denies it. . .
Marco Rubio doesn’t want his praise for Ted Cruz to be interpreted as an endorsement. . .
“I’m not endorsing in this race right now. I don’t have any announcement to make. I was just answering the question,” Rubio told reporters.
Donald Trump currently has 742 committed delegates. Cruz has only 529. But if he could, somehow, get Rubio’s 171 delegates, he’d have a total of 700. And that probably explains the new love-fest between the two of them.
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