4:03 PM ET4:03PM ET
By Ashley Parker and Matt Flegenheimer


Mitt Romney to Vote for Ted Cruz


Mitt Romney at a rally for Gov. John Kasich in Westerville, Ohio on Monday.Credit Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

Mitt Romney plans to vote for Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in Utah’s caucuses Tuesday, the 2012 Republican nominee wrote in a Facebook post Friday. In it, he also seemed to call for Gov. John Kasich of Ohio to step aside to give the Republican Party a better chance to block Donald J. Trump’s bid for the nomination.

Mr. Romney’s vote in Utah, where he owns a house in Holladay, is not an endorsement, allies of Mr. Romney stressed. Rather, it comes as he is working to unite the Republican Party around an alternative to Mr. Trump.

“Today, there is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism,” Mr. Romney wrote on Facebook. “Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these.”

Earlier this month, Mr. Romney delivered a scathing speech against the New York real estate businessman, calling him “a fraud” and “a phony,” and he has worked to block Mr. Trump from securing the delegate count needed to sew up the nomination.

Though Mr. Romney campaigned with Mr. Kasich before the Ohio primary Tuesday, which Mr. Kasich won, the former governor of Massachusetts said in his Facebook post that Mr. Cruz was the party’s best chance to defeat Mr. Trump.

“I like Gov. John Kasich. I have campaigned with him. He has a solid record as governor. I would have voted for him in Ohio,” Mr. Romney wrote.

“But a vote for Governor Kasich in future contests makes it extremely likely that Trumpism would prevail.”

In his message, Mr. Romney said that Mr. Cruz was the most likely candidate to defeat Mr. Trump at the party’s convention in July.

“The only path that remains to nominate a Republican rather than Mr. Trump is to have an open convention,” he wrote. “At this stage, the only way we can reach an open convention is for Senator Cruz to be successful in as many of the remaining nominating elections as possible.”

“I will vote for Senator Cruz and I encourage others to do so as well, so that we can have an open convention and nominate a Republican,” Mr. Romney concluded.

Reacting to Mr. Romney’s plans, Mr. Trump took to Twitter to mock the former Republican nominee.

Mr. Romney had for weeks been contemplating whether to make a more forceful statement about the candidates in the race. And his statement, even couched in praise of Mr. Kasich and without an explicit call for him to exit the contest, was surprising for a politician who has often been politically cautious.

Much of the Republican establishment has been reluctant about moving to Mr. Cruz, disdaining him as an in-it-for-himself politician who once called the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, a “liar” on the Senate floor. Mr. Cruz has been trying to grease a path for people to feel comfortable supporting him, and Mr. Romney’s comments could serve as such a signal.

Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cruz, said the campaign was grateful for Mr. Romney’s support. “We’re thankful that Governor Romney will vote for Ted and agree that a vote for Ted Cruz is they only way to ensure that a Republican wins the nomination,” she said.

Mr. Cruz has been less than effusive about Mr. Romney in the past, suggesting he belonged to the party’s “mushy middle” and arguing that Republicans would be foolish to nominate such candidates going forward.

He has also contended that Mr. Romney was uniquely ill-suited for the 2012 nomination because his healthcare overhaul as governor of Massachusetts was viewed as a precursor to President Obama’s healthcare law — which Republicans (including Mr. Romney) assailed.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/firs...ted-cruz/?_r=0