Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz campaigns in Irvine

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz was in Southern California on Monday to hold a rally in Irvine.

With the California primary still almost two months away, Cruz received a loud welcome from the standing room only crowd at Hotel Irvine.

The senator from Texas said the Golden State may be the biggest prize in the fight for the Republican nomination.

"I'm going to say a sentence that has not been said in 50 years. California is going to decide the Republican nomination for president," Cruz said to his supporters.

California is traditionally not a big focus for campaigns because the nominations are usually settled long before the votes. But that may be different in the 2016 election.

Cruz is putting up a fight to stop Donald Trump before he gets enough delegates to clinch the nomination, as Cruz just came off of a big win in Colorado where he won all the delegates.

"In the last three weeks we have beaten Donald in all 11 elections," Cruz pointed out.

The New York primary is next week and polls show Trump leading in his home state. Cruz claimed he is uniting the Republican Party and that polls show he would beat Hillary Clinton in the fall.

"Nominating Donald Trump would be a train wreck," Cruz said. "Donald loses to Hillary and he loses by double digits."

Last week, ABC7's exclusive poll conducted by Survey USA showed Trump leading Cruz in California 40 percent to 32 percent, and with Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 17 percent.

Cruz headed from Orange County to San Diego later in the evening to host another rally.