Now that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has bowed out of the 2016 race, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley backed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for president on Wednesday.
Haley, who previously endorsed Rubio, praised Rubio during a press conference for being a great public servant, but threw her support behind Cruz to defeat Donald Trump.
“My hope and my prayer is that Sen. Cruz can come through, so that he can really push through and get where he needs to go,” she said.
While Haley said she didn’t think a formal endorsement of Cruz was necessary, she said that Cruz is who publicly and privately backs for president at this point.
“If anybody asked me, that’s what I would say, that I very much now, want Sen. Cruz to move through the ranks and get that top position,” Haley said.
Haley, who was critical of Trump when she delivered the GOP response to President Obama’s final State of The Union Address, said that she sees a “path” to the nomination for Cruz but not for Gov. John Kasich (R-OH).
