Conservative Iowa radio host Deace endorses Cruz

Influential conservative Iowa radio host Steve Deace announced on his program Wednesday that he’ll be supporting Sen. Ted Cruz’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

“In my view, he’s what we’ve been waiting for,” Deace said. “He’s an end to the false choice between principles and electability.”

Deace, a fiercely conservative commentator with a nationally syndicated radio show that’s broadcast out of Iowa, argued that Cruz is best-equipped among the group of socially conservative and anti-establishment candidates to win a national campaign. 

“[Cruz] has raised the resources and put the sort of national campaign together on the ground that it takes to actually defeat the GOP establishment for the nomination,” Deace said. “He is ready to run a national campaign, and we believe this makes him our best chance to offer the American people a real choice and not an echo for a change.”

I am endorsing @tedcruz for president because of his proven courage of conviction and ability to run a national campaign.

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) August 19, 2015

Cruz has raised more hard campaign cash than any other candidate, and a network of supporting super-PACs has raised tens of millions of dollars.

The endorsement should bolster Cruz in Iowa, which holds the first caucuses of the presidential nominating contest.

Kellyanne Conway, the president of one of the super-PACs backing Cruz, called the endorsement a “big win” for the Texas Republican.

“Steve Deace called it when he said Ted Cruz is a courageous conservative,” Conway said in a statement. “Mr. Deace is, too. We applaud this key endorsement from Mr. Deace as a big win for Ted Cruz as he moves forward towards claiming the GOP nomination.”

Cruz’s polling numbers have improved in recent weeks along with those of a handful of other anti-establishment candidates including businessman Donald Trump, former surgeon Ben Carson and former executive Carly Fiorina.

He is tied for fourth place in Iowa with Fiorina, trailing Trump, Carson and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker