A Donald Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE surrogate on Capitol Hill called on Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week Renewed focus on Trump's Supreme Court list after Ginsburg's death MORE to quit the presidential race, saying it’s time for GOP elites to accept the billionaire businessman as the party’s likely nominee.

“The only strategy for these other guys is [a contested convention in] Cleveland and that is a really poor strategy," Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), one of nine lawmakers to have endorsed Trump, told The Hill on Wednesday. "When I say it’s time to start referring to Trump as the presumptive nominee and start talking about him as the likely nominee, that goes for Ted Cruz and John Kasich as well.

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“If Ted Cruz cares more for the party and the country than his own political ambitions, he too will refer to Trump as the presumptive nominee, step down and give us a one-month, six-week head start to unity," Cramer continued.

The comments from Cramer, the at-large congressman from North Dakota, came on the same day former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who ran for president in 2012, said Trump’s primary victory in his home state of New York on Tuesday made him the presumptive nominee.

Neither Cruz, the Tea Party senator from Texas, nor Kasich, the more moderate Ohio governor, have given any indication they’re prepared to throw in the towel. Their surrogates on Capitol Hill said both candidates will take the fight all the way to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July, anticipating that Trump will fall short of the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination on the first ballot.

“I think it’s premature on either side, either Republican or Democrat,” to call anyone the presumptive nominee “until they get the requisite delegates. And we’re not there yet,” Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashOn The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president History is on Edward Snowden's side: Now it's time to give him a full pardon Trump says he's considering Snowden pardon MORE (R-Mich.), a Cruz backer, said in an interview.

A member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, Amash said Kasich should have dropped out a long time ago. The Ohio governor has only won 148 delegates to Trump’s 845 and Cruz’s 559.

But one of Kasich’s top surrogates on Capitol Hill, Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), shot back that Cruz was essentially in the same boat as Kasich. Trump’s near sweep of delegates in New York mathematically eliminated the possibility of Cruz winning the nomination on the first ballot.

“That was Kasich’s advice to Cruz: to drop out because he wasn’t mathematically viable,” Dent told The Hill. “I’m sure Ted Cruz won’t be following his own advice.

“They are in a similar spot. Neither can win on the first ballot,” Dent went on. “If people want an alternative to Donald Trump, they have two choices right now, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, and the question is, which candidate shares your values and is electable? Without question, in my view, that is John Kasich.”

The back and forth Wednesday represented a new level of squabbling among House surrogates that largely mirrored the infighting among Trump, Cruz and Kasich on the campaign trail.

In light of Gingrich’s remarks, Cramer said it was time for other GOP luminaries to rally behind Trump as the nominee, to allow the party to pivot to fighting Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE and the general election.

“I would certainly hope that our leadership, not just in the House and Senate but folks like Mitt Romney and like Karl Rove should start talking about him like he is going to be the nominee,” Cramer said in an interview just off the House floor.

“Whether they refer to him as the presumptive nominee or not, we should be talking about him as if he is our nominee because he is going to be our nominee. And we want to transition to the positive side sooner rather than later.”

But even neutral observers in the party said they weren’t prepared just to accept Trump as the standard-bearer.

“I’m not willing to say anybody is our guy right now. I will say if Donald Trump is the guy, I will be his biggest supporter. But I really don’t see any way that Trump gets 1,237 on the first ballot,” said retiring Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.).

Trump easily won the Peach State, but most of its delegates will back Cruz if voting goes to multiple ballots. Westmoreland said if Trump gets within striking distance of the 1,237 mark, he could feasibly try to negotiate with the party's unbound delegates to push him over the top.

“He says he’s a great negotiator. Well, we’ll find out.”