Mike Lee: Mathematically, It’s Almost Impossible For Marco Rubio To Win

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, left, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, greet the audience during a rally
AP/Rick Bowmer

MIAMI, FLORIDA — Utah Senator Mike Lee spoke out for Sen. Ted Cruz after the CNN debate, explaining why he chose to endorse his friend from Texas instead of his friend from Florida. Lee announced his decision prior to the debate, and was joined by another recent Cruz endorser Carly Fiorina in the debate spin room

During an interview with Breitbart News, Lee explained that his decision was primarily based on his conservative principles — but also about math.

“We’ve reached a point where it’s apparent, one of these guys can beat Donald Trump, the other one can’t,” Lee  said simply.

Lee was pleased that Cruz had successfully assembled a campaign that conservatives could be proud of.

“Ted Cruz has outlined a policy agenda that is unapologetically, unabashedly conservative,” he explained.

When asked why he waited so long before endorsing Cruz, he admitted that he was also friends with his colleagues Rubio and Rand Paul who also ran for president.

“It’s tough when you got multiple friends in the race,” he said. “But it has now become apparent that Ted could win this.”

While officially a Cruz surrogate, Lee praised Rubio for his debate performance.

“I love Marco, he’s awesome. I thought he was phenomenal in his performance tonight — but mathematically, it’s almost impossible for him to win,” he said.

When asked why he decided against endorsing Trump, Lee explained that he hadn’t heard enough details about where the billionaire stood on important conservative issues.

“My point is that I don’t know him, I don’t know what he stands for. I have no idea where he gets his political world view. How he decides what the proper role of government is,” he said. “A lot of his applause lines are really effective, but they aren’t policies.”

Lee confirmed that Trump hadn’t approached him for an endorsement or even sought a conversation with him about issues during the campaign.

“I wouldn’t have necessarily expected him to,” Lee said. “There are those who have decided to attack him and they don’t like him. I just don’t know him.”

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