Hypothesizing that if Republicans lose Pennsylvania this November, they'll "lose the country," U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, in a visit to Carnegie on Thursday night, said Senate candidate Dave McCormick won't just win the general election if he's the GOP's nominee, but he'll govern as a true conservative in Washington.
In a swing through Pennsylvania with the former hedge fund CEO, Cruz, the Texas senator and conservative firebrand who came in second place to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential primary, said McCormick is the "most conservative candidate who can win" — something he looks for when he endorses in GOP primaries across the country, he said.
"We need to back a candidate who, number one, can win — and Dave McCormick can win and he will win — but number two, we need a candidate whom we know what they're going to do, not just because they said it on the campaign trail, but because they have a lifetime of walking behind it," Cruz said to more than 150 people in a warehouse on North Bell Street.
Cruz's tour around the state with McCormick, in many ways, was to serve as a reminder that although McCormick did not win the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, he has the support of numerous Trump-aligned GOP stalwarts who say he's the true conservative in the race.
With a few days to go until the May 17 primary, McCormick is neck-and-neck with Mehmet Oz and conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, according to recent polls, and insiders say it remains anyone's race.
But it's Oz who won Trump's backing, and less than a week ago, the former president came to Greensburg to stump for his candidate of choice. Trump spent more time at the rally criticizing McCormick than he spent praising Oz, saying that McCormick "may be a nice guy, but he's not MAGA."
"He did want my endorsement very badly, but I couldn't do it," Trump said. "If anybody was within 200 miles of me, he hired them."
Cruz, coming to McCormick's defense, said that when it comes to Trump, every GOP candidate bends over backward to beg for his adoration. To truly tell the difference between the candidates, look at their records, Cruz said.
The Texas senator touted McCormick's military background and business record, and said that if he's elected, he will go to Washington to fight to secure the border, defend the Second Amendment, stand up for service members and veterans and back law enforcement.
"We think the country is headed in the wrong direction," McCormick told the audience in his stump speech. "We think the wokeness and the weakness that we see in our institutions — that we see in our leadership — is going to take us down a path where we're not going to recognize the great America that we all love."
Neither Cruz nor McCormick mentioned any of the other GOP primary contenders by name.
Sam DeMarco, chairman of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, said McCormick's resume is right for the job, and that Republicans should not send someone to Washington to "go there and appear on a camera and throw out a sound bite." He endorsed McCormick this week.
"We're looking for someone who can lead, build consensus and get things done on behalf of we the people of Pennsylvania and we the people of the United States of America," DeMarco said.
The winner of the May 17 GOP contest will face the victor of a Democratic primary field that includes Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. Fetterman has led the pack in recent polls.
