Graham on support for Ted Cruz: ‘If I can do it, anybody can’

S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday on CBS that if he could lend is support to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who he has publicly admonished, then his Republican colleagues could too. Image: screenshot from CBS S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday on CBS that if he could lend is support to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who he has publicly admonished, then his Republican colleagues could too. Image: screenshot from CBS Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Graham on support for Ted Cruz: ‘If I can do it, anybody can’ 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

One of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's fiercest Republican critics turned backer offered a novel appeal on Friday for his colleagues to support the current runner-up in the GOP presidential primary.

"If I can do it, anybody can do it," Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday on CBS This Morning.

It's part of an initiative by Graham and other top Republicans to drive party support behind anyone but Donald Trump, the long-time front-runner. Cruz has emerged as the party's only plausible alternative, barring the introduction of a new candidate at the GOP convention in July.

For Graham, promoting Cruz rings with peculiar irony. He has voiced overt disdain for the freshman senator from Texas, and in February joked that Cruz was so unpopular among his colleagues that someone who killed Cruz on the floor of the Senate would not be convicted by anyone in the chamber. That's why he said any Republican could back Cruz if he could.

RELATED: Just weeks after joking about killing him, Lindsey Graham supports Ted Cruz for president

"I'm trying to get us the most viable nominee for 2016 that could win without destroying the party," Graham said. "(Cruz) is smart as hell. He's run a very effective campaign. We have a lot in common, but we also have some real differences. He is a real Republican from the more ideological spectrum than I am, but he would not destroy our party."

Graham's appeal comes as Cruz actively seeks to court the support and funding of top Republican figures, eager to keep Trump from being the party's standard-bearer.

RELATED: Odd fellows: Cruz becomes GOP establishment's best hope

While Cruz stands virtually no chance of besting Trump in the primary vote, the race seems almost inevitably headed for a contested convention in July, where almost 2,500 delegates will hold a series of votes until one candidate wins an outright majority.