Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorses fellow Texan Cruz
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who dropped out of the presidential race four months ago, has endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
“Of those individuals who have a chance to win the Republican primary, at this juncture, from my perspective, Ted Cruz is by far the most consistent conservative in that crowd,” Perry told Politico Sunday. “And that appears to be down to two people."
Perry, who also ran for president in 2012, has been a harsh critic of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who is now in a one-two battle with Cruz for Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses Feb. 1.
The former Texas governor will campaign with Cruz in Iowa this week, according to Politico, and will appear at a Des Moines rally Wednesday night with Cruz and Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
The endorsement comes after a hard week for Cruz on the campaign trail when Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said Cruz should be defeated for calling for elimination of a federal mandate for ethanol and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin endorsed Trump. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, appeared at a rally with Trump - though did not formally endorse him - and GOP elder statesman former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, the 1996 presidential nominee, said Cruz’s selection would be “cataclysmic.”
Perry’s support may help blunt criticism from fellow Republicans that Cruz does not work well with others. Trump has said several times of Cruz, “He’s a nasty guy. Nobody likes him.”
Perry said that early on in his 14 years as governor, he, too, ran into opposition because he vetoed several bills. He said that Cruz, if elected, would be able to work with lawmakers.
“You’ll have with Ted Cruz that same result of, senators and others in the Washington establishment that are mad at him, find him to be hard to work with, they will find a way to work with him because they know he means what he says he means,” he said.
Maria Recio: 202-383-6103, @maria_e_recio
This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorses fellow Texan Cruz."