Rick Perry endorses Ted Cruz for president, at least versus Donald Trump

Perry, who dropped out of the 2016 presidential race in September after just a few months of campaigning, explained his endorsement of Cruz in an interview with Politico.

Perry, who says the race is now between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, was forced to walk back prior criticisms of Cruz in order to endorse him, including his lack of experience as a first-term senator. “That appears to be down to two people”. At the time he called the voluminous Republican field “the best in a generation” and stepped aside amid low poll numbers and fundraising.

Perry will be in Iowa this week to campaign for Cruz on the ground just seven days before voters head to caucus next Tuesday. Rick Perry started off the cycle by trying to atone for his 2012 fumbles, but a ridiculous indictment and a populist uprising never gave the Texas governor a chance.

Cruz previously served as solicitor general during Perry’s administration in Texas. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Glenn Beck, host a rally at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016. Cruz comes across at times like a skilled orator in the Harvard tradition, but Perry has the chops of a revival preacher.

Perry then disputed the notion Cruz is disliked by both his Senate colleagues and establishment Republicans troubled by his Tea Party ties. He also has supported Cruz in statements after leaving the presidential contest, “most recently praising his tax plan and defending him against backlash for his use of the term ‘New York values'”. “That’s why we have elections, why we democratically select leaders”.

Sen. Marco Rubio, now in third in recent Iowa polling, nabbed the coveted backing of the Des Moines Register newspaper, which has thrown its support behind the eventual Republican nominee since 1996.