Romney sends out anti-Trump robo-calls for Rubio, Kasich | Fox News

Listen To Military Veteran Talk Radio

iHeart.SmythRadio.com

Facebook.com/SmythRadio

www.foxnews.com

Mitt Romney is blasting out robo-calls on behalf of Marco Rubio and John Kasich -- and against Donald Trump -- in the states voting Tuesday, marking his most direct appeal yet on behalf of any candidate since he delivered a scorching condemnation of Trump’s candidacy last week.

Voters are going to the polls Tuesday in Republican contests in Michigan, Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii.

Romney’s team still insists the party’s 2012 presidential nominee is not endorsing any candidate, describing the latest robo-calls as more a bid to combat Trump than an indicator of support for Rubio or Kasich. Romney reportedly did pro-Rubio calls in all four states holding contests Tuesday, and recorded a pro-Kasich call in Michigan only. 

"Gov. Romney has offered and is glad to help Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Gov. John Kasich in any way he can,” a source close to Romney said in a statement. “He's been clear that he believes that Donald Trump is not the best person to represent the Republican Party and will do what he can to support a strong nominee who holds conservative values to win back the White House. "

Romney, though, is walking a fine line as he launches his anti-Trump campaign.

He insists he’s not endorsing anyone, and is not entering the race himself -- and only wants to boost Trump’s rivals in states where they have a chance of beating the Republican front-runner, with the apparent goal of depriving Trump of the delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

The robo-calls indeed are more about Trump than any rival candidate.

According to a copy of the pro-Rubio message obtained by The New York Times, which first reported the story, Romney indicates that he’s calling on behalf of Rubio and then urges voters to support “a candidate who can defeat Hillary Clinton and who can make us proud.”

“If we Republicans were to choose Donald Trump as our nominee, I believe that the prospects for a safe and prosperous future would be greatly diminished — and I’m convinced Donald Trump would lose to Hillary Clinton,” Romney reportedly says.

Still, it’s unclear why Romney chose to record most the calls on behalf of Rubio. 

Rubio is trailing in the polls in Michigan -- which offers the biggest delegate prize among primaries being held on Tuesday. Trump has held the lead there, but faces the closest challenge from Ohio Gov. Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Rubio has won only two of 20 contests to date – Puerto Rico and Minnesota – but is banking on winning his home state of Florida next Tuesday. Trump, though, continues to lead in the polls in the Sunshine State and is working hard to knock out Rubio next week.

Fox News’ Serafin Gomez and Jessica O'Hara contributed to this report.

COMMENTS

Kasich: ‘Nobody’s Gonna Win But Trump’

Listen To Military Veteran Talk Radio

iHeart.SmythRadio.com

Facebook.com/SmythRadio

www.thedailybeast.com

Shortly after Thursday night’s debate, Gov. John Kasich said that “Nobody’s gonna win but Trump” in the  Republican presidential candidates’ battle on Super Tuesday. He qualified that estimate when asked about Ted Cruz’s chances in his home state of Texas—one of the 12 states voting in primaries next week—adding the caveat: “I don’t know that, OK, but it’s very close.” Kasich said Trump will win until the battle for the GOP nomination heads north, adding, “Who do you think’s gonna come up north and be able to beat me?” The latest polling from Kasich’s home state of Ohio, however, shows Trump with a narrow lead.

COMMENTS

NH Poll: Trump +16, Kasich in 2nd, Jeb Bush Surging

AP/David Goldman

by MIKE FLYNN7 Feb 20165,234

The latest Monmouth University poll of New Hampshire shows Donald Trump continuing to lead the GOP field by a double-digit margin.

The poll, however, shows a very tight race for second place, with Jeb Bush surging 9 points since Monmouth’s last survey in January.

Trump leads the field with 30 percent support, essentially unchanged since Monmouth’s last poll in early January. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is second with 14 percent support, also unchanged since early January. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has 13 percent support, up just one point in the last month. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has 12 percent, down just two points since the beginning of the year.

The momentum seems to be with Jeb Bush, who has surged 9 points in the last month. Bush has moved from 4 percent support in early January to 13 percent support today. He is tied with Marco Rubio for third.

Considering the poll’s 4.4 percent margin of error, New Hampshire currently has a four-way race for second. Kasich, Rubio, Bush and Cruz are all well positioned to finish runner up in Tuesday’s primary. Chris Christie is much further back with just 6 percent support, down slightly since January.

All the pundit talk about Marco Rubio having momentum going into Tuesday’s vote looks hollow against this poll. Rubio’s support level in the state is unchanged since November. The only significant change in New Hampshire since the Fall is growing support for both Bush and Ted Cruz and a collapse in support for Ben Carson.

Two notes of caution, however. The Monmouth poll was conducted before Saturday’s Republican debate, which may reshuffle the race for second and third in the state. Marco Rubio was widely acknowledged to have stumbled in the debate, while Govs. Bush, Kasich and Christie were perceived to have done well.

In addition, only 49 percent of likely Republican voters say they are certain in their vote. Almost one-third of voters, 31 percent say they have a “strong preference” in whom to support. Monmouth did a follow up survey after the Iowa caucus and found that just over half of those voters with a “strong preference” stuck with their candidate on election day.

“Volatility is the name of the game in 2016’s first primary contest, just as it was in the first caucus state last week. While Trump’s placement as the top finisher seems fairly secure at this point, the margin of victory and final order of the remaining candidates are still very much up for grabs,” Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth polling, said in a release.

Monmouth’s final poll in Iowa greatly overestimated Trump’s support and underestimated support for both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Almost half of likely Republican voters, 49 percent, say they have been personally contacted about supporting at least one of the Presidential hopefuls. This indicates a very active and robust ground game currently trying to turn the vote out for Tuesday’s election. This high level of retail politicking is a feature of New Hampshire’s primary.

It is also one of the reasons that the final outcome is so predictable. With so many voters making their ultimate decision in the final hours of the campaign, that “last touch” with voters can prove decisive.

Read More Stories About:

Big Government, 2016 Presidential Race