Dan Nowicki, and Alia Beard Rau

The Republic | azcentral.com

Ted Cruz, the high-octane conservative U.S. senator from Texas, made the case Friday night in Phoenix that he provides the only viable alternative to GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

During a nationally televised appearance before a raucous, at-capacity crowd at Arizona Christian University, Cruz criticized Ohio Gov. John Kasich for staying in the Republican race and continuing to split the anti-Trump vote. Kasich has won just one state this primary season: his home state.

Cruz said that while Trump has done well in early Arizona voting, his campaign is surging in the state now. He also suggested that he is picking up support from former backers of Marco Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida who exited the race on Tuesday after losing his home state to Trump.

"There's no good reason (for Kasich to stay in the race)," Cruz said during a question-and-answer session with conservative TV and radio commentator Sean Hannity that was carried live on the Fox News Channel. "He is essentially the spoiler. A vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump."

Cruz's dig at Kasich, made just a few days before Tuesday's winner-take-all Arizona presidential preference election, prompted a Twitter response from John Weaver, the Kasich campaign's chief strategist.

"Cruz is a spoiler. A vote for either Cruz or Trump is a vote for Hillary," Weaver tweeted.

Cruz, who like Trump is an opponent of what he characterizes as "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants, headlined the gathering of his supporters after touring the Arizona-Mexico border earlier in the day.

At the Phoenix rally, recounted what he saw.

"The border fence, the little fence there is there, is so dilapidated, is so ineffectual," Cruz said, adding that his five-year-old daughter could easily climb it.

The rally crowd was solidly conservative, even booing the mention of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. They wildly cheered when Cruz outlined his tough-on-illegal-immigration proposals.

"You know that there's a new, politically correct term for illegal aliens: It's called undocumented Democrats," Cruz quipped at one point.

Cruz insisted that, unlike President Barack Obama, he would have the political will to finally secure the border.

"You enforce the laws and what the laws provide is that if you're here illegally, you're deported," he said to applause.

Cruz shared the stage with 2016 Republican-rivals-turned-allies Carly Fiorina and Rick Perry. Other special guests on the bill included U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who, like Cruz, is a conservative "tea party" favorite, and Glenn Beck, a national conservative radio commentator whose program is heard locally on Phoenix radio station KFYI-AM (550) formally endorsed Cruz in January.

Also appearing with Cruz was Steve Ronnebeck, whose son, Grant, was shot and killed while working the graveyard shift at a Mesa QuikTrip. The suspect charged with the crime is an undocumented immigrant. Ronnebeck is also featured in an ad for Cruz.

Yesenia Crothers, of Globe, attended the rally with her husband, Jason. He said he’s a solid Cruz vote. She’s still deciding.

“I’ve decided who I’m not voting for,” she said, laughing. “I want to hear what Ted Cruz has to say, find out more about his views and his character."

Jason Crothers said he believes Cruz will uphold the Constitution and supports his strong family values. “His character is a big part of it, too,” he said.

Raquel Hamstra, 19, and Nate Perez, 19, students at Arizona Christian University, wore matching hand-painted red shirts. Perez’s read “Dump Trump” and Hamstra’s “Choose Cruz."

“I was supporting (Marco) Rubio but when he dropped out, I moved to Cruz. He has a good plan for America,” Hamstra said. “He’s a very good Christian guy. He supports a strong military and smaller government and is pro-life.”

Bob and Tori Morley of Gilbert said they came to the rally to show their support.

“He’s someone who stands on his principles,” Bob Morley said, adding that he also supports Cruz’s adherence to the Constitution. He said he feels this election is particularly important as the next president will likely pick the next U.S. Supreme Court justice.

Cruz has been running second to Trump, the celebrity billionaire, in Arizona, polls show, just as he is nationally. Arizona's election is one the same day as Utah's GOP caucuses, where Cruz is expected to prevail.

How to vote in Arizona's presidential-preference election

Trump is set to campaign Saturday in Fountain Hills and Tucson.

On Friday, Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, announced that he will vote for Cruz over Trump in the Utah caucuses. In a Facebook message, Romney denounced "Trumpism," which he said is associated "with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence."

"The only path that remains to nominate a Republican rather than Mr. Trump is to have an open convention," Romney wrote. "At this stage, the only way we can reach an open convention is for Senator Cruz to be successful in as many of the remaining nominating elections as possible."

The rally at Arizona Christian University's Student Activity Center was organized by the pro-Cruz Super PAC Keep the Promise. The school's president, 2006 Republican gubernatorial nominee Len Munsil has endorsed Cruz and helped warm up the audience.

Cruz's other Arizona endorsements include Republican U.S. Reps. Trent Franks, Paul Gosar and David Schweikert. Franks and Gosar also addressed the gathering in support of Cruz.

Mitt Romney: I'm voting for Ted Cruz in Utah

Arizona delegates could decide for themselves at Republican convention