Gov. Nikki Haley says she's praying that Ted Cruz becomes the Republican nominee

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 17 March 2016

With Marco Rubio out of the race, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has found a new Republican presidential candidate to back: Ted Cruz.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Haley said that while Rubio is an "amazing public servant," it "obviously wasn't his time" to become the Republican nominee. Now, the governor said, "my hope and my prayer is that Sen. Cruz can come through this, and that he can push through and really get to where he needs to go. We do want a strong leader, we do want somebody that's conservative, we do want somebody that's action minded. We'll see what happens."

Haley said she doesn't think she needs to make a formal endorsement, and also won't call on any other candidates, like Ohio Gov. John Kasich, to drop out of the race. She said she sees a path to the nomination for Cruz, who has "been disciplined" in the way he's won states, showing that he's "strong." When asked if she'd back Donald Trump if he becomes the nominee, the governor replied: "I always said I would support the Republican nominee. That's what I said in the beginning and I'll keep saying it. Ask me again when the time comes."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.