Texas Sen. Ted Cruz proclaimed a victory on in South Carolina on Saturday, saying his campaign had again defied expectations by finishing in the top 3 of the GOP presidential primary.
He also noted the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, which he attended earlier in the day, and said the November election will determine the future of the country.
"As Ronald Reagan was to the presidency, so Justice Scalia was to the U.S. Supreme Court," he said. "His passing one week ago today underscores the enormous stakes of this election. It is not just one but two branches of government that are at stake. And Justice Scalia's replacement will not be decided by the Washington power brokers. It will be decided by we the people."
November's election "will be a referendum on the Supreme Court," Cruz said. "I cannot wait to stand on that debate stage with Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders or whatever other socialist they nominate."
With former Florida
Gov. Jeb Bush dropping out of the race earlier in the night, Cruz made a play for his supporters, praising him for not taking his campaign into the gutter.
"If you are a conservative, this is where you belong because only one strong conservative is in a position to win this race," Cruz said. "Second, we are the only campaign that has beaten and can beat Donald Trump."
Cruz congratulated Trump on his win, but said that anyone who doesn't believe Trump is the best candidate to defeat expected Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton should join his effort.
"Indeed, the screaming you hear now from across the Potomac is the Washington cartel in full terror that the conservative grassroots are rising up," Cruz said.
"In Iowa they said it couldn't be done. And we won," he said. "In New Hampshire they said a conservative, a Bible-believing Christian could not compete. And we defied expectations. And tonight despite millions and millions of dollars in false and nasty attacks, despite the entirety of the political establishment coming together against us, South Carolina has given us another remarkable result.
"Friends, once again, we have made history," Cruz said.
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