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CLEVELAND- At their final morning meeting of the 2016 Republican National Convention Minnesota Republicans were still talking about what happened on the convention floor on Wednesday night.

Last night's Ted Cruz speech, which did not include a Trump endorsement, was a topic of informal discussion at the meeting, with some in the room talking about Cruz's political ambitions and others saying they never expected the Texas senator to throw his support behind Trump.

Delegate Jackson Harvey of Savage  came to Cleveland as a Cruz delegate.

"I am not surprised that he didn't endorse Trump," said Harvey. "I'm a little surprised that he got to speak without endorsing Trump."

Harvey also said he was hardly a surprised that Cruz drew boos for not backing Trump, given the tension between the Cruz and Trump campaigns.

"The party  is having issues right now," said Harvey. "I mean everybody could see this. The party has got some divisions. People have been upset at this convention."

Harvey says he has concerns about what  Trump might do as president if he wins in November. Still he says he will vote for Trump.

Cruz Delegate Mandy Heffron, a  24-year-old from Little Falls, said she too knew Cruz would not endorse Trump and that it's a bit odd such a big deal is being made of it.  She thinks he may have made a smart move by sticking with his principles as he looks ahead to future presidential contests.

"You know there were a lot of grass roots conservatives that were supporting him, and I was one of them, and I think that he would have lost that base of support if he would have endorsed," Heffron said.

Politics and Government News

Capitol View®

Mark Zdechlik

Author

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