Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has scored the backing of Darwin Deason, a billionaire who gave $5 million to the now-defunct presidential campaign of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
“We did our research and concluded unanimously Ted Cruz, who went to D.C. and did what he promised Texans he would do, has the best chance of winning the Republican nomination and the general election next year,” Mr. Deason said in a statement Monday, along with four other Texas businessmen and his son.
“We are proud to support him.”
Mr. Deason gave $5 million to Mr. Perry’s Super PAC, which has since been returned after Mr. Perry abandoned his race for the White House. Mr. Deason and his son Doug Deason will join Mr. Cruz’s National Finance Committee.
Mr. Cruz received $70,000 from Mr. Perry’s supporters and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s supporters since the two candidates dropped out, more than any other candidate, according to a Big Crunch analysis of data from the Federal Elections Commission.
Mr. Cruz has been slowly moving up in the polls. He now ranks third in Iowa, tied with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, according to the most recent Monmouth poll. He’s still trailing GOP front-runners Ben Carson and Donald Trump in the state.
On Monday, Mr. Cruz was in Houston, both touting new campaign endorsements while also taking a few jabs at former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was also in the city meeting with donors and retooling his campaign.
“This state still respects the Bush family,” Mr. Cruz said after a news conference announcing Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as his state campaign chairman, according to Politico. “But at the same time, Texans recognize that circumstances have changed after seven years of Barack Obama in Washington. We need something different.”
• Kelly Riddell can be reached at kriddell@washingtontimes.com.
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