Cruz Gets Endorsement - Sort of - from Indiana's Pence

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has secured the backing of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a significant, if largely symbolic, boost for a second-place Republican presidential campaign fighting for relevance.

In a radio interview Friday, however, Pence, a Republican, stopped well short of a full-throated endorsement: "I'm not against anybody, but I will be voting for Ted Cruz in the upcoming primary," he said.

The governor also made sure to praise front-runner Donald Trump, who has the inside track to the GOP's presidential nomination, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who's running a distant third.

"For me this is about choosing between three good men, all of whom I like and respect," Pence said. "I urge every Hoosier to make up their own mind."

"I will say this: I have tremendous respect for Gov. Mike Pence," Cruz said Friday, campaigning in Indiana with Carly Fiorina, his choice for vice president. "He has been an incredible leader for the state of Indiana. He has really demonstrated that when you cut taxes when you reduce regulations, that jobs follow."

Cruz has focused his energies on winning the Hoosier State, which votes Tuesday. A victory there would keep alive his White House ambitions and any possibility of stopping Donald Trump -- a nearly impossible task after the GOP front-runner swept five state primaries this week.

A two-term conservative governor, Pence is popular among Republicans and was considered a potential presidential candidate last year, but opted not to run. He met this week with Cruz, Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, before apparently deciding to support Cruz.

Recent polls show Trump with a small edge over Cruz in Indiana, and decisive victories for the celebrity billionaire in the Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware primaries Tuesday helped him extend his lead.

Those wins, and his crushing defeat of Cruz in the New York primary the week before, have Trump well positioned to collect the 1,237 delegates needed to capture the nomination ahead of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

He now has 989 delegates, compared to Cruz's 577 and Kasich's 155.

Though getting enough delegates to win a first-ballot nomination is mathematically out of reach for him, Cruz struck a deal with Kasich to essentially divvy up a handful of states with upcoming primaries, hoping to deny Trump the delegates to win and forcing a contested convention.

But the agreement quickly fell apart: Cruz denied there was a deal, Kasich wouldn't tell his Hoosier supporters to vote for Cruz and Trump undermined them both by declaring the arrangement was proof the GOP primary system is rigged.

Trump no longer needs Indiana and its 57 delegates to win. But if he does, it could be all over for Cruz.

Gabrielle Levy covers politics for U.S. News & World Report. Follow her on Twitter (@gabbilevy) or email her at GLevy@usnews.com.