Ted Cruz says he is the only Republican that can beat Donald Trump even as he lags his rival in Missouri

The Texan Senator said America faced 'a clear choice' between him and the real estate mogul - but failed to mention John Kasich

Mr Cruz has failed to mention John Kasich who won the state of Ohio this week (AP)

Ted Cruz has claimed he is the only remaining Republican that can beat his rival Donald Trump, who has enjoyed a sweeping victory in at least three out of five states.

Speaking to an audience in Houston, Texas, Mr Cruz said that America “now has a clear choice” in a "two-man race" between him and Mr Trump, excluding any mention of his rival John Kasich, who won his home state of Ohio.

At the time of writing Mr Cruz was lagging behind Mr Trump in Missouri, the last state to reveal its results on Tuesday evening, with Mr Trump and Mr Cruz gaining 41.2 per cent and 40.9 per cent respectively.

“Going forward, the choice is straight forward: do you want a candidate that shares your values or a candidate that has spent decades opposing your values?” he asked.

Mr Cruz vowed his campaign would focus on three issues - jobs, freedom and national security, to turn around the “misery” of the Obama administration.

The Senator claimed that Mr Trump has received “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of free advertising by “partisan Democrats” who believe Mr Trump would not win against Hillary Clinton.

“It’s easy to talk about “making America great again” - you can say that on Facebook - but the question is whether you understand the values that make America great in the first place,” he said.

Mr Cruz praised Marco Rubio, his “friend and colleague”, who ran a “strong, positive and optimistic campaign”. Mr Rubio dropped out of the race after losing to Mr Trump in his home state of Florida.

“Marco’s story is one of passion and inspires me,” he said. “Marco can paint a picture, [can make] a tapestry of the promise of the US like nobody else. I congratulate Marco and [wife] Jeannette on the tremendous campaign they ran together.“

“With gratitude and with hope and with a positive vision together we welcome you to join us along with remarkable leaders like Carly Fiorina and Governor Rick Perry and all the Republicans uniting behind our campaign,” he added.