Ted Cruz introduces Carly Fiorina as running mate in race for GOP nomination

article

Ted Cruz, looking for a shake-up in the 2016 race as Donald Trump moves steadily closer to the Republican nomination, on Wednesday announced former GOP primary rival Carly Fiorina as his choice for running mate should he win the party nod.

Speaking during an afternoon rally in Indianapolis a day after he was swept by front-runner Trump in five primary contests, Cruz announced his decision to cheers and chants of “Carly! Carly!”

“After a great deal of time and thought, after a great deal of consideration and prayer, I have come to the conclusion that if I am nominated to be president of the united states that I will run on a ticket with my vice presidential nominee Carly Fiorina,” Cruz said.

The theoretical pairing represents a diverse ticket – offering the possibility of electing the first Hispanic president and first female vice president.

But for the time being, Fiorina will hold the odd position of being a vice presidential candidate-in-waiting – as Cruz continues to lag far behind Trump in the battle for the GOP nomination. Cruz actually has been mathematically eliminated from being able to clinch the nomination before the convention, and is relying on the prospect of a Cleveland floor fight.

A highly visible Cruz surrogate, the former HP CEO recently handed over her tax returns to the Cruz campaign for vetting, CNN reported Tuesday, and her name immediately surfaced when Cruz teased a “major announcement” Wednesday morning.

Trump leads Cruz in pledged delegates, 954-562, but Cruz’s strong ground operation has elected many delegate allies to the Republican Convention in July. Cruz is now basing his campaign on the theory that no candidate will get to the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Cruz believes the battle will proceed to a contested convention, where he hopes to triumph once some pledged delegates become unbound and are free to switch their votes.

Trump on Wednesday morning dismissed the notion that Cruz could name Fiorina as his proposed running mate.

"First of all, he shouldn't be naming anybody because he doesn't even have a chance," Trump said. "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."

In a statement later Wednesday, Trump criticized the move as Cruz "only trying to stay relevant."
While most presidential candidates wait until they have the nomination sewn up to announce a running mate, Cruz's selection of a vice presidential candidate in April – while he’s well behind in delegates – followed a pattern of somewhat unconventional campaigning including an early embrace of Trump and kicking off his campaign without first forming an exploratory committee.

Fiorina began her career working as a secretary and receptionist but quickly rose up the business ranks and was named in 1999 as the chief executive officer for Hewlett-Packard, becoming the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company.

"Of all the people who didn't make it far in the race, she was one of the best about laying out her plan, talking about who she is and her accomplishments," said Doug De Groote, a fundraiser for Cruz based near Los Angeles.

On her website, Fiorina describes her tenure at HP as having “saved 80,000 jobs” during “the worst technology recession in 25 years.” But her time at the helm also drew criticism for alleged deals with Iran brokered through a subsidiary and the laying off of 30,000 employees. In 2004, Fiorina left the company after the board of directors forced her resignation.