It wouldn’t be a Republican primary without charges of foul play levelled at Ted Cruz. And New York is no exception.
A few hours before polls closed in the Empire State, John Kasich’s strategist John Weaver tweeted that the Texan was responsible for misleading robocalls—which falsely claimed that New York’s Democratic governor had endorsed Kasich.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a major bugbear for conservatives, in large part because of his participation in efforts to increase restrictions on guns. A Cuomo endorsement would likely be a kiss of death for a Republican presidential candidate, even one as moderate as Kasich.
Alice Stewart, a spokesperson for Cruz’s campaign, denied any dirty trickery.
“We didn’t make any such calls,” she emailed The Daily Beast.
The Kasich campaign did not provide audio of any robocalls saying Cuomo had endorsed their guy.
Still, Weaver didn’t dial back his charge that Cruz had used unethical campaign practices.
“It was what we come to expect from him & them. Push polling, lying robo calls, etc at every turn. But it is a long road without a turn Ted,” he tweeted.
“There isn’t a lie too low to spread by Cruz and crew,” he added.
Allegations of sabotage have dogged the Texas senator throughout the campaign cycle. In February, Cruz publicly apologized to then-candidate Ben Carson after his backers spread a false rumor right before the Iowa caucuses that Carson was on the verge of leaving the race. And Marco Rubio said the Cruz crew pushed baseless allegations in the lead-up to the Hawaii primary that he was about to can his campaign.
Eagle Forum leader Ed Martin also recently charged that Cruz’s campaign tried to sow discontent in his organization as revenge for Phyllis Schlafly’s endorsement of Donald Trump—prompting The New Yorker to dedicate an entire piece to it, dubbed “Ted Cruz and the Art of the Dirty Trick.”
