If Trump hadn’t been in, the nominee would have been Rubio already. Cruz did not win a single county in FL or VA. I can’t state that enough. Rubes won the only ones Trump didn’t.
You cannot win the GOP nomination without those two states. It would have been a Rubes/Kasich shootout. God help us.
Cruz was finished after Super Tuesday when he was completely shut out. He claims he’s a Southern evangelical but got beaten to a pulp by a Yankee billionaire. Southerners saw right through Cruz’s holier than thou snit. He’s also not shown the ability to win any large primary states other than Texas, where 56% voted for someone other than him.