Posted on 02/22/2016 5:33:43 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday suggested that the Republican presidential race is now down to Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, leaving out Ted Cruz.
I see it more as Trump-Rubio," McCarthy said during an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" as the hosts discussed pundits who ruled out candidates like Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
"Cruz's whole strategy of winning - he wasn't planning on Trump - and when you look going through the evangelical vote and others, he just lost that," McCarthy added.
Trump picked up nearly a third of the vote in South Carolina on Saturday while Rubio narrowly edged out Cruz in the first southern state to hold voting ahead of the March 1 primaries.
McCarthy praised Rubio's comeback in South Carolina after the Florida senator finished a disappointing fifth in New Hampshire, but acknowledged that it is difficult to name a state that Rubio could win given the dominance of Trump in the race.
McCarthy likened Trump's popularity among voters to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's rise to governor of California "even down to the fact that they replaced Trump with Arnold on 'The Apprentice.'"
The House GOP leader expressed optimism about working with Trump, acknowledging the businessman's status as the Republican presidential front-runner.
McCarthy pointed to Trump's momentum in the GOP race after winning New Hampshire and South Carolina, saying, "I think there's more [than] 50-percent chance he's the nominee."
McCarthy insisted that he could work with any of the GOP candidates leading the field.
Aha! This weeks alter identity for Trump is swartzenegger...it’s a different one every week...stay tuned.
Latest poll in FL has Trump at 48. In MA Trump is at 50.
Expect to see a lot of Super Tuesday states polling showing Trump in the 40’s and 50’s.
He’s got two more years in Senate to build up his reelection campaign. He has a chance to take Texas on March 1st, but if he doesn’t, he will probably drop out.
Texans may remember in 2018 that he was Canadian.
Curious what you are going to do if Cruz loses and Trump is the nominee?
Are you circulating your resume just in case?
Ted should go to the SCOTUS.
I am voting for him, but lets face it . It is over for him.
His strategy was wrong and his staffers need to be fired.
The guy is smoking crack because Ted Cruz is not going anywhere.
What irritates me is that he did not tell Texans that he was still a Canadian citizen when he ran in 2012.
Kevin McCarthy's Benghazi gaffe roils House speaker race -- [Oct 2015]
"Washington (CNN) Kevin McCarthy's run to be the next House speaker is showing signs of trouble.
Emboldened conservatives are seizing on McCarthy's recent stumbles, insisting that he continues to lack the 218 votes necessary to secure the speakership on the House floor, and word spread Friday that Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah might join the race.
McCarthy infuriated Republicans by suggesting the probe into the deadly 2012 Benghazi attack was political in nature, giving fodder to many conservatives already eager to insert new blood into the House leadership....
With little margin for error, McCarthy went on "Fox News" Thursday evening to walk back his Benghazi comments, saying he "did not intend to imply in any way that the work is political."
Still, McCarthy's comments from earlier this week -- where he boasted that Clinton's "numbers are dropping" because of the work of the Benghazi committee -- became fodder for Democrats, who said it showed the panel was simply designed as a political witch hunt to target the Democratic frontrunner's record as secretary of state. McCarthy's comments came up in the closed-door meeting Thursday with the House Freedom Caucus, attendees said."....
Evangelicals have rejected Cruz. It’s over. Can’t say I’m sorry in your case.
Let us hope that Cruz is dug in.
Gingrich is on Fox&Friends and he just made an interesting observation.
Rubio may be showing a strong 2nd. But as Rubio gets more endorsements from the establishment types, the more Rubio is going to seem to be what the voters are voting against.
==
An FR thread/comment made a similar observation last evening: The race could come down to Trump/anti-illegals vs. Rubio/pro-amnesty.
Do you read the articles you post? McCarthy is not supporting Trump. He’s just correctly deducing that Cruz has no chance to win the nomination.
What is the appeal of Marco "Senor Amnesty" Rubio? He's got virtually the same resume accomplishments as Hussein 0bama - NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH, ZIPPO! He's a dem running as GOPe.
Cruz never had a chance in the general election, but he is a good placeholder for the delegates otherwise divided between Trump and Cabana Boy.
Agreed. Cruz is done.
It’s going to be Trump/Rubio. I’m gonna be sick.
It’s too late for everyone now. All the Pub candidates. It’s too late. The Party is over. Trump is our Pub Prez candidate. There is no time left for anyone to stop the Trump train. Trump will be President Trump soon.
I’d like to see TX send another Conservative. Cruz is just to weird and creepy and I don’t trust him. Seems that is not the minority opinion.
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