NY Rep. Peter King Jokes He'll 'Take Cyanide' If Ted Cruz Wins GOP Nomination

"I hate Ted Cruz," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said today.

ByABC News
April 19, 2016, 12:53 PM

— -- New York Republican Rep. Peter King really doesn't want Sen. Ted Cruz to win the GOP nomination for president.

"I hate Ted Cruz, and I think I'll take cyanide if he even got the nomination," King said this morning in an interview with MSNBC as his Long Island, New York, constituents headed to the polls.

King, who previously endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential campaign, said he voted absentee for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

The Long Island Republican is no fan of the controversial Texas senator, and once said he'd "jump off that bridge when we come to it" when asked whether he'd support Cruz as the Republican nominee for president.

He also called him a "carnival barker" in a statement and told Cruz to "go back under a rock" after Cruz first criticized Republican front-runner Donald Trump for embodying "New York values."

But if he ever reverses course and supports Cruz, King, who predicted a Trump victory in today’s New York state GOP primary, wouldn't be the first Republican lawmaker to change his mind about the Texas senator.

Former presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at first joked darkly about suicide when asked about endorsing Cruz. Graham has since endorsed Cruz and helped him raise money in an effort to stop Trump's presidential campaign.