Texas governor endorses Cruz

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday threw his support behind Sen. Ted Cruz as the GOP presidential candidate looks to shore up support in his home state ahead of voting there next week.

{mosads}”The Ted Cruz we’ve seen in the Senate is the same Ted Cruz we elected and he’s the same Ted Cruz I served with when I was attorney general,” Abbott says in a video released by Cruz’s campaign.

The governor also argued that Cruz, a former Supreme Court clerk, is the best candidate in the GOP field to appoint the “right judges” to the Supreme Court.

Cruz has touted his experience as Texas solicitor general as Republicans work to block President Obama’s pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

CNN, which first reported the video and endorsement, said that Abbott will formally back Cruz at an event Wednesday afternoon in Houston.

The backing is Cruz’s highest-profile endorsement yet and the first governor to back his bid. Cruz has been endorsed by a couple dozen House lawmakers but has not been publicly backed by any senators.

Texas is one of a dozen states to hold voting next Tuesday, a key state for Cruz to pick up a win after taking Iowa but losing three in a row to Trump in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

“I think I do very well in Texas,” Trump said on “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday. “I will focus on it. It’s very close.”