Texas Gov. endorsement boosts Cruz – if he’s willing to attack Trump

The Governor of Texas has endorsed Ted Cruz for president.

“It is our duty as Texas conservatives to support a leader we can trust to restore our values”, Abbott says.

A UT/Texas Tribune poll was released earlier this week and had Cruz holding an 8-point lead over Trump with 37% support.

But people in 11 other states, many in the south, are voting too. Governor Greg Abbott’s endorsement, first reported by CNN, could help him secure that victory.

Some of Cruz’s most prominent surrogates are expected to fan out across the state in the run-up to the primary, including Patrick, Perry, Cruz’s father Rafael and his wife Heidi, who already has eight meet and greets scheduled Friday through Sunday in Texas.

Although an endorsement from Abbott was predictable, not netting it would have been catastrophic for Cruz. Ted Cruz, making him the most senior political figure to endorse the Texas senator.

It will also serve as a point of comparison for polls that followed Cruz’s disappointing third-place finish in SC, where he narrowly trailed Rubio. Obama says he plans to nominate a potential jurist anyway, citing his constitutional responsibility.

Clinton is well-liked by Democrats, leaving 67 percent of them with a favorable impression, but Texas Republicans are overwhelmingly negative: 91 percent have an unfavorable opinion of her. Only 4 percent said they have a favorable impression of Clinton.

Primaries for both parties in Texas take place March 1.

Without mentioning Nevada victor Donald Trump, Cruz said Texas won’t be swayed by “blustery rhetoric” and that “the time for the clowns and the acrobats and the dancing bears has passed”.

He hinted at a potential target on Tuesday when he said “Marco Rubio is a nice young man”. That includes Texas, where Cruz is still favored.

The attacks come as Cruz and his allies have laid into Trump’s stances on a number of issues important to conservatives, from Trump’s use of eminent domain laws for personal gain to the NY billionaire’s past support of abortion rights and additional gun control measures.

Cruz and Rubio have each tried to frame the remaining race as a two-man affair between themselves and The Donald.

Trump later added, “I’d like to really win in Texas”.

Like Texans were at the Alamo, he said, the United States is under siege.

Cruz has been riled by the repetition of being called a liar after a series of campaign tactics – including suggesting that former neurosurgeon Ben Carson was dropping out as the Iowa caucuses began.

An enthusiastic Ted Cruz is not acting like he had a bad week, one in which he placed third in Nevada’s primary and fired his chief spokesman.