Sen. Ted Cruz has announced his endorsement for former President Donald Trump's third run for the White House, saying that he believes the 2024 primary race "is over" and arguing that it is time for the Republican Party to unite ahead of the general election.
The Texas Republican, who ran and lost against Trump in a heated 2016 race, announced his endorsement on Fox News, telling host Sean Hannity that he is looking forward to supporting the former president "enthusiastically," reports The Hill.
He added that Iowa, where Trump won overwhelmingly against contenders Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, was a "dominating victory" for the former president.
"I've got to say, there's no place like the Iowa caucuses," said Cruz, who won in Iowa in 2016. "I know it intimately. The men and women of Iowa, they take their responsibility incredibly seriously. They scrutinize the candidates."
Trump got 51% of the vote in the Iowa caucus Monday, as well as winning 98 of the state's 99 counties.
He did not call on DeSantis, the governor of Florida, or Haley, a former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, to drop out of the race, but said with the Iowa results, "the people have spoken ... it's time to move onward to victory in November."
Cruz did acknowledge that the upcoming New Hampshire primary, set for Jan. 23, may be "closely contested," but still, he said he does not see "any path for victory" for anyone else but Trump.
Cruz, who is seeking reelection in Texas, further posted on X Tuesday that he is "proud" to endorse Trump and said that it is "time for us to unite to out Joe Biden and save our country from the Democrats' destructive agenda."
He also asked followers to make a "strong statement" by donating to support him and Trump "as we work together to defeat Joe Biden & Save America."
Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has said he does not plan to endorse a primary candidate but has angered Trump by saying he prefers his party take a new direction, reports The Texas Tribune.
With his endorsement, Cruz joins several other Republican senators in backing Trump, including GOP Sens. John Barrasso, Wyoming; Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee; Mike Braun, Indiana; Katie Britt, Alabama; Ted Budd, North Carolina; Kevin Cramer, North Dakota; Tom Cotton, Arkansas; Lindsey Graham, South Carolina; Bill Hagerty, Tennessee; Josh Hawley, Missouri; John Hoeven, North Dakota; Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi; Roger Marshall, Kansas; Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma; Eric Schmitt, Missouri; Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Florida; Tommy Tuberville, Alabama; J.D. Vance, Ohio; and Roger Wicker, Mississippi.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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