Evangelical leader Tony Perkins endorses Cruz

by Elliot Smilowitz - 01/26/16 9:36 PM ET

Evangelical leader Tony Perkins said Tuesday he is endorsing Ted Cruz for president.

Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, tweeted his endorsement as he announced it on Fox News’S “The Kelly File.”

I am personally endorsing Ted Cruz for president of the United States. #Cruz2016

— Tony Perkins (@tperkins) January 27, 2016

{mosads}“This is about his standing on conservative principles, it’s about his standing on the Constitution, not his standing in the polls, or his standing with his colleagues,” Perkins said of the Texas senator.

“That’s why I support him, he’s a bold leader, he’s the kind of leader we need right now in America.

“All I can say is he has done exactly what he said he was going to do when he ran for the United States Senate,” he added.

Perkins was repeatedly pressed as to why he chose to endorse Cruz over rival Donald Trump.

“Leadership is not all about making deals. Leadership is about standing on principle, about respecting the Constitution. No one understands the Constitution like Ted Cruz,” he said.

Perkins is a former member of the Louisiana state House of Representatives and ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2002.

—Updated at 11:06 p.m.

Tags Ted Cruz Tony Perkins