Cruz Names Former Rival Fiorina As His Running Mate

After suffering a string of losses to businessman Donald Trump in the battle for delegates, Cruz is moving to energize his base

By Andrew Peng

Published at 12:10 p.m. ET

UPDATED (4:20 p.m. ET) —After hours of speculation and unconfirmed reports, Ted Cruz announced on Wednesday that former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will be his vice presidential nominee, stating that she possessed the knowledge and judgement necessary for the job.

Ever since she ended her own Republican presidential bid in February, Fiorina has been one of Cruz’s most well-known surrogates on the campaign trail. She was the only woman in the GOP presidential field, and her ties in California could help boost Cruz in the state’s crucial June 7 primary (she ran for Senate in 2010 and lost to incumbent senator Barbara Boxer).

Cruz’s announcement, which was delivered in front of a small but youthful crowd in Indianapolis, indicates that the Texas senator is struggling to energize his supporters after he was mathematically eliminated from getting the required 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination in the wake of rival Donald Trump’s dramatic five-state sweep in the northeast on Tuesday.

Trump quickly criticized the pick before it was even announced, saying:

“Naming Carly’s dumb, because Carly didn’t do well. She had one good debate — not against me by the way, because I had an unblemished record of victories during debates — but she had one victory on the smaller stage and that was it.”

Turning his attention and resources to another fast-approaching primary in Indiana, Cruz’s campaign is hoping that a victory in the state will help eventually trigger a contested convention in Cleveland, leading to a Trump loss on the first ballot followed by a Cruz win in subsequent rounds of voting.

Follow us on Twitter at @campaigner2016 and like us on Facebook. Send tips, questions and complaints to campaignernow@gmail.com.