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Graham said he
will headline a fundraiser in support of the Texas senator on
Monday, in connection with the upcoming conference of the
pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.
Cruz is to address the AIPAC meeting on Monday.
"If we give the banner of the Republican party to Donald Trump,
we tarnish it maybe forever. That might be the end of the
Republican party as I know it," Graham told reporters at the
U.S. Capitol.
Graham, a U.S. senator from South Carolina who dropped out of
the presidential race in December, before the nominating
contests had even begun, acknowledged his former harsh criticism
of Cruz, including joking about Cruz being murdered on the
Senate floor.
"It's an odd alliance, but it's an alliance I feel comfortable
with given my choices," Graham said.
He said he thought Ohio Governor John Kasich would have a better
chance of winning in November, but had concluded that Cruz has a
better chance of stopping Trump.
"I like John Kasich. I think we could nominate John and John
would win the general election going away," Graham said.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Clarece Polke; Editing by
Tim Ahmann and Leslie Adler)
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