Cruz weighed in on the race first on Monday night, speaking with conservative radio host Mark Levin, saying, “The conduct of the Washington, D.C., machine in the Mississippi runoff was incredibly disappointing.” On Tuesday, Cruz reiterated that claim to reporters in Washington. He would not specifically say if he meant the NRSC or the Cochran campaign when he referred to the “Washington, D.C., machine,” only saying, “I’ll let my statement speak for itself.”
But Cruz indicated that he would not resign as the NRSC’s vice chair because they “share the ultimate goal of electing republicans in November.” He had made similar comments in March and now appears to still be committed to staying on once the primary season has passed.
“When I signed on as vice chair at the NRSC, it was based on a explicit commitment from leadership that the NRSC was going to stay out of primaries. Had they not made that commitment I would not have taken on that role,” he said. “I participated in the NRSC early on and when the decision was made for them to do otherwise, I stopped participating because I think Washington insiders are notoriously poor at picking winners and losers in primaries and indeed the Mississippi primary is exhibit A for why the NRSC should stay out of primaries.” “I do share the same objective the NRSC shares of winning general election seats in November,” he added. “I plan to work very hard and intend to work very, very hard between now and November to make that happen.”
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