Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a candidate mathematically eliminated from winning the GOP nomination on the first ballot, has named Carly Fiorina as his running mate.

Make no mistake, this a Hail Mary (or perhaps Hail Carly) pass. Cruz did it in part to take the limelight away from Donald Trump, who is edging closer to the nomination thanks to his five-state romp Tuesday in the Northeast. It is also a strategic effort to win over female voters alienated by Trump in the 10 remaining primary states, starting with Indiana next Tuesday.

The strategy behind the Cruz-Fiorina ticket is to win enough delegates to keep Trump shy of the 1,237 mark needed to claim the nomination on the first ballot at the Republican convention this summer, and then try to sway delegates to his side on subsequent ballots.

Candidate Ronald Reagan tried a similar approach in 1976, but it didn’t work.

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