Leading Iowa evangelical endorses Ted Cruz for president

“For these reasons and others, our board unanimously decided The FAMiLY LEADER needs to remain a standard bearer for Christian principles in our culture and government, and not endeavor to be a kingmaker in the election process”, the group said in its statement.

“We live in extraordinary times and it demands extraordinary leadership.

Ted Cruz”, Vander Plaats. the president and CEO of the conservative Family Leader organization, said at a press conference at the Iowa state Capitol. I believe this is exactly the sort of consistent conservative we will need to lead us when President Obama leaves office. Both won the caucuses, but neither won the nomination.

The Family Leader trio praised the quality of the 2016 Republican field, but Vander Plaats said he hoped Iowa conservatives would “coalesce” behind Cruz’s candidacy to avoid fractionalizing their influence in Iowa and beyond. “We have believed for a long time that if we’re united, we will win”.

“Our goal is to unite conservatives around Sen”. Those assumptions were fueled by previous endorsements of the Texas senator by people close to Vander Plaats such as Iowa-based radio talk show host Steve Deace.

“This is an endorsement that simultaneously sends a signal to political observers and motivates active caucus voters”, said Cruz. Aside from playing in national and state-level Republican politics, the primary recent raison d’être of the Family Leader was to purge the State Supreme Court of judges who made Iowa an early state in the march toward marriage equality for same-sex couples. “If we as conservatives come together in Iowa, and across the country, we will win”.

Donald Trump, for example, disqualified himself by not attending the group’s forum, and Vander Plaats expressed concerns about Marco Rubio’s role in the “Gang of Eight”, calling his position on immigration “a hurdle that’s going to be very steep for Marco Rubio to clear”.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has a great personal success story, Vander Plaats said. Vander Plaats’ endorsement is viewed as an individual endorsement, outside the parameters of his organization.

The endorsement comes as Cruz has surged in the polls.