Former Kansas Senator, Bob Dole has joined the list of people who doesn’t want Ted Cruz to win, after Iowa Republican Governor Terry Branstad said he wants Cruz to lose. Bob Dole, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 1996 said on Wednesday that Ted Cruz at the top of the GOP ticket would mean “wholesale losses” for the party in Washington and across the country.
Bob Dole says Cruz might betray his party
“I question his allegiance to the party,” Mr. Dole said of Mr. Cruz. “I don’t know how often you’ve heard him say the word ‘Republican’ — not very often.” Instead, Mr. Cruz uses the word “conservative,” Mr. Dole said, before offering up a different word for Mr. Cruz: “extremist.” “I don’t know how he’s going to deal with Congress,” Dole said “Nobody likes him.” His remarks according to Newyorktimes, reflect wider unease with Mr. Cruz among members of the Republican establishment, but few leading members of the party have been as candid.
Dole leaning towards Trump
Donald Trump would “probably work with Congress,” though, Dole mused, because he’s “kind of a deal maker.” Dole characterized Cruz as an “extremist” unwilling to work with his own party. Last month, Dole told MSNBC that he might oversleep and not vote next November were Cruz the Republican nominee. Dole added that he thought it would be harder for Hillary Clinton to defeat Trump in a general election than Cruz.
Bob Dole doubtful of Jeb Bush?
Bob Dole lamented Wednesday that Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor he supports for president, still “needs to break out,” and that moderate Republicans seem to have had a tougher time reaching voters this cycle. Should Hillary Clinton take on Cruz in a general election, she’d win easily, he said. He believes there’s no other candidate that can stop Cruz from getting the nomination other than the controversial businessman, Trump, not even Jeb Bush that he supports. “I think it’s Trump,” Dole said.
