Ted Cruz’s withdrawal from the Republican presidential race Tuesday took his Washington campaign chairman by surprise — and sapped any potential drama from the state’s May 24 primary.
Ted Cruz’s withdrawal from the Republican presidential race Tuesday took his Washington campaign chairman by surprise — and sapped any potential drama from the state’s May 24 primary.
The Texas senator’s announcement — following a crushing loss in Indiana’s primary — came as Cruz’s campaign had planned a swing through Washington, including rallies in Spokane, Bothell and Vancouver, and a fundraiser in Redmond.
Those events are all canceled now.
Donald Trump’s local campaign organizers, however, say they’re still working through details of his planned visit this Saturday — including a possible stop near Seattle at Boeing Field, or at Everett’s Paine Field.
The end of Cruz’s campaign came as a shock to Saul Gamoran, Cruz’s Washington campaign chair.
“I had no idea,” he said in a text message to a reporter as Cruz announced his withdrawal barely an hour after the campaign had insisted its Washington events would go on.
In an interview, Gamoran said it appeared that Trump’s recent sweep of five northeastern primaries had created “an air of inevitability” around the billionaire that carried into Indiana’s win Tuesday.
“I am proud of the fact the campaign pulled out all the stops and did everything they could to break that narrative, and proud the campaign showed a clear choice,” said Gamoran, a Mercer Island attorney.
Cruz will remain on the primary ballot in Washington. But the results will be moot, Gamoran said.
Gamoran said he doesn’t know how he’ll mark his own ballot in November.
But, he said, “I could not support Donald Trump, because he doesn’t represent my values, and I don’t think he represents the best in who we are as Americans. He won’t have my vote.”
State Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, one of Trump’s state campaign leaders, said he hopes such raw feelings will subside.
“During primaries it gets heated and people say things,” Ericksen said. “Now it’s about unity. I like Ted Cruz … we want to keep his supporters on board.”
While Trump’s Washington plans are not nailed down, Ericksen said the campaign is evaluating rally locations for Saturday — one in Spokane, one in the Vancouver area, and one in the Puget Sound region — possibly at Boeing Field or Paine Field, or possibly in Bellingham.
Labor unions and other groups have already started organizing for protests of the Trump events, with fliers and a website saying they want to “shut it down.”