Ken Cuccinelli, president of the influential Senate Conservatives Fund, endorsed Ted Cruz for president in Virginia on Friday afternoon.
Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general who lost the 2013 gubernatorial election by fewer than 3 percentage points, leads the Senate Conservatives Fund’s efforts to install conservative insurgents in the U.S. Senate.
Three senators running for president in 2016 earned SCF’s endorsement during their Senate campaigns, namely Cruz, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. But Cuccinelli formally announced his decision to support Cruz on Friday.
When Cuccinelli endorsed Cruz onstage, he said the 2016 election was of immense historical importance, or as he put it, “like 1776 important.”
“I came of age just after Reagan was re-elected, so I didn’t get a shot at voting for Reagan. If we could have spread this field across all those elections, I’d have someone better to vote for in every election for president than I actually had,” Cuccinelli said. “And yet, when I look for all of the things like a commitment to life and family, and a commitment to fixing our judiciary, which is sorely in need of fixing, who will fight the establishment in Washington, which is so much a source of all of our problems, not just talk about it but have a proven track record of doing it, Senator Ted Cruz stands alone. He stands alone and that’s why I’m proud to endorse him today.”
When the Washington Examiner spoke with Cuccinelli about the 2016 race earlier this year, he indicated that Virginia poses several challenges for whomever becomes the GOP nominee. Cuccinelli said Northern Virginia is filled with transplants from out of state who closely follow the debate in Washington, including about government shutdowns, budget disputes, and debt ceiling squabbles. But, he said, it’s important to remember that not all Virginians have the same concern and focus on D.C.
Cruz, who ranks first in the Washington Examiner‘s GOP presidential power rankings, traveled through Virginia as part of his “Take Off With Ted” tour of the March 1 nominating states. He also has plans to visit Georgia and Alabama this weekend.
