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Republican candidates refuse to back eventual party nominee

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Press Trust of India Washington
In a U-turn, all three Republican presidential candidates have reneged on their pledge to support the party's eventual nominee, further exacerbating divisions within the party.

Republican presidential candidates - Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich - said during a CNN-organised town hall in Wisconsin yesterday that they were no longer committed to their previous pledge of supporting the eventual Republican presidential nominee.

"No. I don't anymore," Trump, the Republican Presidential front-runner, said when asked if he will continue to support the party's nominee.

The development might end up handing the November 8 presidential elections to the Democratic party on a platter, and might make things easier for its possible presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to enter the White House.
 

"I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and attacks my family. I think that is going beyond the line," Senator Ted Cruz from Texas said in response to a similar question.

"Donald is not going to be the Republican nominee. We're going to beat him. Listen, I think nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute train wreck. I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton," Cruz said.

Last to appear during the town hall, Ohio Governor John Kasich said he will not support a nominee who divides the country.

"I got to see what happens. If the nominee is somebody that I think is really hurting the country, and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them, but we have ways to go. Let's see how this all folds out, and then I'll let you know," said Kasich, who so far has won only one of the 27 primaries.

Trump is leading both the delegate count and the number of States won, but is quite far behind the 1237 delegates needed to won the Republican presidential nomination.

At the start of the Republican primaries all the presidential candidates had pledged that they would support the eventual nominee of the party.

However, things now seems to have changed specially after the bitter and personal fight between Cruz and Trump.

Trump alleges that a pro-Cruz political action committee had circulated a nude picture of his wife - a former model - in an anti-Trump advertisement.

Cruz has denied the allegation and has accused Trump of launching a personal attack against his wife, a claim the real-estate tycoon has denied, saying he was fighting back as this was all started by Cruz.

Trump yesterday said he did not need the support of Cruz.

"He doesn't have to support me. I have tremendous support right now from the people. I'm way over two million votes more than him," Trump said.

He said that the Republican establishment had treated him very unfairly.

"I've been treated very unfairly. I think by, basically, the RNC, the Republican party, the establishment," he said.

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First Published: Mar 30 2016 | 2:22 PM IST

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