In exclusive interview with abc13, Cruz describes Super Tuesday as 'big, big, big, night'

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News, Sen. Ted Cruz used one of Donald Trump's favorite words to describe his victories in Texas and Oklahoma on Super Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with abc13, Ted Cruz shared what's next in his race for the presidency

"It was a big, big, big night," he told Eyewitness News minutes after addressing his supporters at an election night watch party in Stafford at the Redneck Country Club event and concert venue.

Cruz won more than 40 percent of the vote in his home state, a win he called especially gratifying, and carried Oklahoma by more than five percentage points.

The first-term Texas senator is calling on supporters of other candidates to join his campaign, contending his is the only one that can beat delegate leader Donald Trump and win the nomination. And he says if Trump wins the GOP race, Republicans will lose the general election.

"In a head-to-head battle with Donald Trump, we win resoundingly, and what tonight did is further the process of getting it head to head as a choice between our campaign and Donald Trump and in that contest we win," he said. "We can't win in November with a message that is indistinguishable from the Democrats. I think a lot of Republicans recognize that if we nominate Donald Trump, we will nominate someone who agrees with Hillary on issue, after issue, after issue."

Sen. Ted Cruz celebrated a win in his home state of Texas during its primary.

When asked if he is calling for Marco Rubio (one state win), John Kasich (zero wins), and Ben Carson (zero wins) to drop out, he said that is something each campaign has to think about.

"Every candidate is going to have to assess the results," he said. "They're going to have to sit down with their family, with their loved ones, with their team and assess, do they have a viable path to 1,237 delegates. That's what it takes to win the nomination."

Texas and Oklahoma were Cruz's first wins since finishing first in the very first contest a month ago. He won the Iowa Caucuses over Trump and Rubio.

Cruz heads to Kansas for a pair of events on Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters after a strong Super Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton easily won the Texas primary, giving her the most delegate-rich prize of Super Tuesday.

Clinton was a heavy favorite in Texas. She locked up endorsements from many of the state's top Democrats and also carried the state in 2008 over Barack Obama.

Texas isn't a winner-take-all primary. Bernie Sanders is on track to get a sliver of the 222 delegates at stake but didn't compete like the Vermont senator had done in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The primary contest was the biggest draw on the Texas ballot. No major statewide offices are up for grabs to drive voters to the polls, and Texas has few competitive congressional or legislative races on the Democratic side.

The Associated Press contributed to this report