Tom McClintock, Morton Blackwell Back Ted Cruz

Sen. Ted Cruz has picked up two huge endorsements for his 2016 campaign: conservative icon Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Leadership Institute pioneer Morton Blackwell.

A press release Thursday from the Cruz campaign stated, “McClintock has spent his time in Congress fighting for conservative principles like working to limit the size of the federal government, reign in Obama’s lawlessness, repealing Obamacare and protecting the Constitution.”

McClintock, a Tea Party favorite, minced no words in announcing his selection, asserting:

This election is too important to leave to chance. Ted Cruz is the only top tier candidate we can be absolutely certain will govern conservatively and constitutionally; who will stand his ground no matter what the pressure and articulate our positions boldly and convincingly to the American people.  After nearly three decades of disappointments, our next president needs to come from the Republican wing of the Republican Party.

Cruz returned the compliment, responding, “Tom is an unwavering leader in working to reduce government spending, reign in our debt and work for conservative reforms. He has consistently fought against the Washington Cartel. We need more leaders like Tom in Washington to protect conservative principles. I am thrilled to have Tom’s support in working together to restore the principles America was founded on.”

McClintock’s endorsement adds an interesting patina to the list of Cruz supporters, as he tends toward pragmatism rather than gesture politics. In September, he resigned from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, saying that the group’s hardball tactics had impractical consequences, paving the path for handing Barack Obama legislative victories. He said, “A common theme through each of these incidents is a willingness – indeed, an eagerness – to strip the House Republican majority of its ability to set the House agenda by combining with House Democrats on procedural motions. As a result, it has thwarted vital conservative policy objectives and unwittingly become Nancy Pelosi’s tactical ally.”

With a 90% rating from Conservative Review, MC\cClintock’s conservatism should go unquestioned; his pragmatism indicates that he strongly believes Cruz can win the general election.

On Sunday, Cruz nabbed the endorsement of Morton Blackwell, the founder of the Leadership Institute. He wrote, “In the past several weeks, the presidential contest has clarified. I have decided to endorse Ted Cruz and to urge other serious conservatives to join me in supporting Cruz.”

Blackwell posed a series of questions that needed to be answered by a serious candidate, then concluded, “Applying those questions and similar considerations to the current candidates and their campaigns, you and I should unite in support of a candidate who could win election and whom we believe would be the most determined and effective conservative president. I believe that person is Sen. Ted Cruz.”