U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, in a last-ditch bid to slow front-runner Donald Trump's momentum, on Wednesday named former business executive Carly Fiorina to be his vice presidential running mate if he wins the nomination. "After a great deal of time and thought, after a great deal of consideration and prayer, I have come to the conclusion that if I am nominated to be president of the United States that I will run on a ticket with my vice presidential nominee Carly Fiorina," Cruz, a U.S. senator for Texas, said at a rally in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Following the announcement, Cruz's campaign website redirected traffic to a new one featuring both names on the ticket.

After suffering a series of crushing losses to Trump in nominating contests on Tuesday, Cruz praised Fiorina as a principled fighter for conservative values who knew how to create jobs and would be a valuable ally on the campaign trail. "She is careful. She is measured. She is serious," Cruz said. "She doesn't get rattled."

Fiorina, 61, dropped her own White House bid in February after a lackluster seventh-place finish in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary. She endorsed Cruz, a 45-year-old U.S. senator from Texas, a month later and has been a sharp critic on the campaign trail of likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. @CarlyFiorina: Today, I'm very proud and very humbled to announce that I have accepted Ted Cruz's offer to be his Vice President. Cruz's unusually early announcement of a running mate appeared to be a bid to recover from Tuesday's losses, which moved Trump closer to the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination at the July 18-21 Republican convention in Cleveland. The nominee will face the Democrats' pick in November's general election. Traditionally, the winners of the Republican and Democratic presidential races announce their running mates in the period between clinching the nomination and the summer national conventions. But Cruz needs help after Tuesday's drubbing by Trump, 69, in all five Northeastern states that held primary elections: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The choice of Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive who, like Trump, has never held elective office, could help Cruz with women voters, a group that Trump has had difficulty winning over to his outsider campaign. It also could offer Cruz a boost in the June 7 primary in California, where in 2010 Fiorina won the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. She was defeated in the subsequent general election by incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer.

Waste of time

In a statement, Trump was scornful of Cruz's decision to pick a running mate, calling it "a pure waste of time" and "a desperate attempt to save a failing campaign by an all-talk, no-action politician."

"Cruz has no path to victory. He is only trying to stay relevant," the New York billionaire and former reality TV star said. Trump and Fiorina tangled on the campaign trail during her White House race. After Trump insulted her looks in an interview — "Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?" — she sternly rebuked him in a debate. "I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said," Fiorina said last September. A breast cancer survivor who lost a stepdaughter to drug addiction, Fiorina served as Hewlett-Packard CEO from 1999 to 2005. She was forced to resign amid weak earnings as the company struggled to digest a $19 billion merger with then-rival Compaq Computer. Boxer responded to the news of Cruz selecting Fiorina by referencing the merger. @BarbaraBoxer: I predict that the latest @CarlyFiorina merger will be as successful as her last one. The California senator tweeted a series of comments criticizing both Cruz and Fiorina. Boxer has publicly supported Clinton. @BarbaraBoxer: I can't wait to call Hillary Clinton Madame President when we make history in Nov. #WomensHistoryMonth #ImWithHer Boxer's chief of staff recently joined Clinton's campaign as director of congressional affairs.