CNN’s ‘Unprecedented’: Mike Lee flew to Florida to try and forge Rubio-Cruz alliance
Washington (CNN) – Mike Lee had the plane ticket, the Miami hotel suite, and the buy-in. All he needed was for Marco Rubio to show up. In the week before the Florida Republican primary in March, Lee headed early to the GOP presidential debate there with a mission: to convince one Senate friend, Rubio, to ally with another, Ted Cruz, and form a unity ticket to block Donald Trump from winning the Republican nomination.
But at the last minute, as Lee prepared to board his plane, Rubio backed out of the meeting.
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“Cruz was serious enough about the alliance that he authorized Sen. Mike Lee of Utah to go to Miami ahead of the CNN debate there on March 10 to help work out a deal,” the authors write.
“I think the two of them as running mates would have been unstoppable,” Lee later told CNN. “They would have united the party.”
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“I don’t think I can do this,” Rubio told Lee, according to one of the sources. “I don’t think I can back out and not be a presidential candidate prior to the primary in Florida.”
And so he didn’t. Five days after the debate, Trump won Florida by 18 points and Rubio immediately dropped out of the race.
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- Discussion
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W/ Cruz's blessing, Mike Lee flew to Florida to try to create unity ticket w/ Rubio before FL primary. Rubio bailed. https://t.co/AF6doNhu0e
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 17, 2016
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