HOUSTON, Texas – Presidential candidate Ted Cruz tonight delivered remarks after a resounding victory in Wisconsin and challenged Hillary Clinton to get ready for a general election where Republicans put forth an optimistic vision for bringing back jobs, freedom, and security. See excerpts and full remarks below. 

 

“God bless the Great State of Wisconsin. What an incredible victory. And thank you to your tremendous governor, Governor Scott Walker, for his principled, passionate leadership.

 

“Tonight is a turning point.  It is a rallying cry.  It is a call from the hard-working men and women of Wisconsin to the people of America: we have a choice.  A real choice.

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“And tonight, here in Wisconsin, a state where the media had said just a few weeks ago was a “perfect state for Donald Trump to win,” the working men and women of Wisconsin have stood up and campaigned tirelessly to make sure that tonight was a victory for every American who cares about the future of our country.

 

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“So I ask you to join us, as we continue to unite Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Americans who care about our future– as we’ve done here in Wisconsin.  So that we can come back to this state in November and, for the first time since 1984, paint the Badger State bright Republican red.

 

“Hillary, get ready, here we come.”

 

Full remarks below: 

 

God bless the Great State of Wisconsin.  What an incredible victory tonight.  And thank you to your tremendous governor, Governor Scott Walker, for his principled, passionate leadership.

 

Tonight is a turning point.  It is a rallying cry.  It is a call from the hard-working men and women of Wisconsin to the people of America: we have a choice.  A real choice.

 

The national political terrain began to change two weeks ago.  In the state of Utah, we won 69 percent of the vote—a landslide election, winning every single delegate in the state.

 

Then three days ago in Colorado, two congressional districts voted. They elected six delegates. Of those six delegates, we won all six.

 

And then two days ago in North Dakota, we had another tremendous win. They elected their delegates. Of the delegates who have specified their support, eighteen are supporting our campaign; one is supporting Donald Trump.  Eighteen to one—I’ll take that ratio any day of the week.

 

And now tonight, here in Wisconsin, a state that just three weeks the media had written off—three weeks ago the media said Wisconsin was a “perfect state for Donald Trump.” But the working men and women of Wisconsin stood and campaigned tirelessly to make sure that tonight was a victory for every American.

 

Four very different states, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, Wisconsin.  Four victories.

 

So just how significant is tonight?  Well, just today, our campaign has raised over $2 million.  People all over America coming to tedcruz.org, tedcruz.org, tedcruz.org, contributing $10 or $25 or $50.  We’ve had over 1.3 million contributions.

 

In the last two weeks, and in the coming days when Colorado and Wyoming finish voting, we are likely to have gained over 100 delegates on Donald Trump.

 

And as a result of tonight—as a result of the people of Wisconsin defying the media, defying the pundits—I am more and more convinced that our campaign is going to earn the 1237 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination.  Either before Cleveland or at the convention in Cleveland, together we will win a majority of the delegates and together we will beat Hillary Clinton in November.

 

Tonight was a bad night for Hillary Clinton. It was a bad night in the Democratic primary, and it was an even worse night for her in the Republican primary.

 

We are winning because we are uniting the Republican Party.  Of the 17 candidates who started this campaign—a terrific, talented, dynamic field—five have now endorsed this campaign.  Rick Perry, and Lindsey Graham, and Jeb Bush, and Carly Fiorina, and Wisconsin’s own Governor Scott Walker.  When you toss in Senator Mike Lee and Mark Levin, we’ve got the full spectrum of the Republican Party, coming together and uniting behind this campaign.

 

In 1960, accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination, John F. Kennedy observed, “I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us to see through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office, “If we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future.”

 

The same is true today.  Tonight, Wisconsin has lit a candle guiding the way forward.  Tonight, we once again have hope for our future.

 

Tonight is about unity, and tonight is about hope.

 

Young people in America once again have hope that we will bring jobs back to America.  By repealing Obamacare, reigning in the federal regulators that are killing small businesses, passing a flat tax, and abolishing the IRS, we will unleash incredible economic growth.

 

Our border will be made secure, and sanctuary cities will end.

 

Truck drivers and mechanics and plumbers and steel workers, union members and the men and women with callouses on your hands, once again will see wages rising.  Opportunity expanding.

 

Working moms—working moms struggling to make ends meet, will see take-home pay rising, the cost of living falling, and Common Core ending.

 

Catholic schools and Jewish Day Schools, Brigham Young and the Little Sisters of the Poor, will see a Supreme Court that protects their religious liberty, the fundamental freedom of every one of us to live according to our faith and our conscience.

 

We’ll see a Supreme Court that protects the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and our fundamental right to protect our families and our homes and our children.

 

We’ll see a President who stands with Israel.  Clearly and unapologetically. 

 

Instead of negotiating with terrorists, we’ll rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal.

 

We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism, and we will utterly destroy ISIS.

 

We will have a President who keeps us safe.

 

To the soldiers and sailors, airmen and marines, to the police officers and firefighters, and the first responders who risk their lives to keep us safe, we will have a Commander in Chief who has…your…back.

 

Jobs, freedom, and security.  That’s what this next election is all about.

 

In 1980, Milton and Rose Friedman wrote “Free to Choose.”  They explained that the American free enterprise system has been the greatest engine for opportunity and prosperity that the world has ever seen.  Too much government can stifle opportunity, but if we get Washington out of the way there is no limit to what we can accomplish.

 

It’s what allowed my Dad to escape Cuba and come to America with nothing, washing dishes making 50 cents a day, to start a business and today to be a pastor traveling the country.

 

It’s what allowed my Irish-Italian Mom to become the first in her family to go to college, to smash glass ceilings by becoming a pioneering computer programmer.

 

It’s what allowed my wife Heidi— I may be biased, but isn’t she going to make an amazing First Lady?

 

She’s the child of missionaries, my best friend in the world, and she’s become a successful business leader, a loving Mom, and every day she’s teaching our daughters Caroline and Catherine that strong women can accomplish anything in the United States of America.

 

That’s America.  It’s what we’re fighting for.  Our children.  Our future.  And, Wisconsin has made clear, we are free to choose.

 

For centuries, America has been a shining city on a hill, a beacon of liberty to the world.  And we can and will be once again.

 

So I ask you to join us, as we continue to unite Republicans, and Independents, and Libertarians, and Reagan Democrats and Americans who care about our future who want jobs and freedom and security. Just as we’ve done in Wisconsin, we’re doing all across this country.

 

And Governor let me tell you, I look forward to coming back to the state of Wisconsin this fall. And in November, for the first time since 1984, painting the Badger State bright Republican red.

 

So let me just say, Hillary, get ready, here we come.

 

God bless you! 

 

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