Sen. Ted Cruz has picked up another big endorsement in the evangelical Christian community: James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family.
The influential evangelical leader announced Thursday he plans to back Cruz, whom he said has a “record on religious liberty, life, and marriage [that] is second to none in this Republican field.”
Cruz has spent much of his campaign trying to court evangelical Christians, holding religious liberty rallies in the early voting states of Iowa and South Carolina and meeting with leaders at the national and grass-roots levels. Cruz has also dispatched his father, Rafael, a minister, to gain the support of religious leaders.
In the past few weeks, Cruz has locked down the support of influential religious leaders in Iowa, including Bob Vander Plaats, head of the Family Leader group. The National Organization for Marriage endorsed Cruz last week.
Cruz has been seeking to solidify conservative and religious leaders behind his campaign, which has been gaining momentum both nationally and in Iowa.