US polls: Cruz eyes Rubio's 173 delegates to stay afloat; will they save him?

Washington, April 27: With Texas Senator Ted Cruz taking a serious beating in the last Super Tuesday of April, observers of this year's American presidential election are asking whether the 173 pledged delegates of former presidential runner Marco Rubio will help the former in his fight with front-runner Donald Trump which is looking increasingly difficcult now.

Cruz though has claimed that a number of those delegates will back him, it is Rubio who could exert a decisive influence if he asks his delegates to vote in a certain pattern.

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Last week, the Florida senator who quit the race after losing his home state in March told CNN that he did not have any talks on which candidate his delegates should back. Unlike some of the other former candidates who endorsed one among the current ones, Rubio hasn't backed any so far. [Trump declares himself presumptive nominee after winning all five primaries]

The 44-year-old was also reluctant to respond when he was asked whether he would seek the Republican nomination if the convention remained indecisive. Rubio was known for his fierce clash of viewpoints with front-runner Donald Trump who he had vowed to stop to save the Republican Party.

Rubio said he is nore focused on the Senate and has not given any thought to the idea of seeking his party's nomination.

After losing all five primaries on Tuesday (April 26), Cruz now has 560 delegates. Trump, who won all five contests, has 950 delegates now. To get nomination, a Republican candidate must have 1,237 delegates.

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