Ted Cruz flatly rejected the idea of a contested convention on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, warning that it would lead to a "manifest revolt" against Republican establishment figures who have floated the idea as a last-ditch vehicle to stop front-runner Donald Trump.
At a question-and-answer session with Fox News host Sean Hannity, the Texas senator said Trump must be defeated at the ballot box.
"Any time you hear someone talking about a brokered convention it is the Washington establishment in a fevered frenzy. They're really frustrated because all of their chosen candidates, all of their golden children, the voters keep rejecting. And so they seized on this master plan," Cruz said mockingly at the conference in Maryland. "We go to a brokered convention and the D.C. power brokers will drop someone in who is exactly to the liking of the Washington establishment. If that happens we will have a manifest revolt on our hands."
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"If we want to defeat Donald Trump, we cannot turn to the establishment once again and ask them to guide the citizenry to the right answer," she said in prepared remarks. "If we want defeat Donald Trump, we must defeat him at the ballot box, by offering citizens conservative solutions to the problems in their lives."
Also on Friday, Cruz revealed that he has opened up 10 offices in Florida this week, a late play in a state that is increasingly seen as a must-win for Senator Marco Rubio. The offices will be in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa, Umatilla, Rockledge, Lakeland, Fort Myers, Naples, Boca Raton and Miami.
