Republican Ted Cruz may have an uphill battle to win most of the GOP delegates in Tuesday's New York primary, but an appearance on Friday night at Monroe Community College brought out some of his most ardent fans.
The crowd of around 1,200 were ready to cheer and yell at just about every talking point the Texas Senator hit in his half-hour speech.
He spent part of that time trying to convince the crowd that he's got a broad coalition of people who would vote for him, letting them know that the Democratic candidates don't have a lock on the youth vote.
“And let me give a word of caution to Hillary and Bernie, take a look, at all the young people.”
Cruz also warned the crowd that if Hillary Clinton gets elected, it will mean a sharp turn to the left for the majority on the Supreme Court.
“We are one Justice away from the Supreme Court stripping religious liberty from millions of Americans. We are one Justice away from the Supreme Court effectively erasing the second amendment from the Bill of Rights.”
His platform has focused on jobs, freedom and security, and those are the issues he touched on Friday night.
That was just fine with Johanna Grimaudo, who was among those who came to see Cruz at the college gym.
“ I just like his Judeo-Christian values, he’s pro family, he’s pro-life, he’s to restore the country the way it should be according to the constitution,” she told WXXI News.
Not everyone in the crowd at the MCC gym had made up their mind on who they want to vote for.
Among those attending the rally, Ben Frenett , a Spencerport high school student who just turned 18 and will be voting this year. He sort of likes Trump, and probably Cruz also, but says he not only went to their rallies, he also went to last week's rally at MCC for Hillary Clinton.
“My parents told me you never get this opportunity so I definitely want to come out and see everyone that I can, regardless of their party.”
Cruz has been making a number of stops in Upstate New York in the last few days. A couple of recent polls have him trailing behind Donald Trump and John Kasich in Tuesday’s Republican Presidential Primary.
(Videography by Martin Kaufman)
