Iowa congressman King endorses Republican hopeful Cruz for president

DES MOINES - Calling him the best candidate to 'restore the soul of America,” U.S. Rep. Steve King on Monday morning said he is endorsing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to be the Republican nominee for president.

King likely will be the highest-ranking Iowa Republican to make an endorsement in the Republican primary. U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Gov. Terry Branstad have said they will not endorse a candidate.

King announced his endorsement Monday in Des Moines, shortly after returning from a trip to the Middle East.

'I believe Ted Cruz is the candidate who is the answer to my prayers, the candidate who will use God to restore the soul of America,” King said at a news conference in a downtown Des Moines hotel.

King has represented western Iowa in Congress since 2003. He did not endorse a candidate in 2012, and supported Fred Thompson in 2008.

King said he plans to help Cruz's campaign as much as he can.

'I'm in with both feet. I'm in all the way,” King said.

King said he likes all the Republican candidates, but believe Cruz gives Republicans the best opportunity to put a conservative candidate in the White House.

'(Cruz) has an unmatched intellect, and he's grounded in constitutionalism and the rule of law,” King said.

Cruz has been in the second tier of candidates in polling on the Republican race in Iowa, behind leaders Ben Carson and Donald Trump and alongside Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush.

'I am beyond honored to receive Steve's endorsement. Steve is a tremendous leader in the House and one of the few truly principled men and women in Washington. He is a courageous conservative who stands up for our values and refuses to back down,” Cruz said in a statement. 'His support comes at a fantastic time for our campaign, as we are seeing people in Iowa and across the country signing up, volunteering, contributing, and joining our campaign to reignite the promise of America.”

King, who has been outspoken against any federal immigration policy that allows more immigrants into the country or for those living in the country illegally to remain her permanently, said he supports Cruz's immigration plan, which has come under fire recently from fellow Republicans - Rubio, in particular.

'I like what I read (in Cruz's immigration plan),” King said. 'It's got a lot of good immigration stuff in it.”

King defended legislation introduced by Cruz that would have increased the number of immigrant work visas, saying it was a 'poison pill” designed to kill a larger immigration reform bill.

'I don't see that as an advocacy for granting amnesty because it was a strategic amendment,” King said.

King has been criticized by some for his own views on immigration, particularly after he asserted that many immigrants entering the country illegally are drug smugglers with 'calves the size of cantaloupes.”

A statement from the Iowa Democratic Party accused King of possessing 'views, hateful rhetoric and backwards-looking policies.”

'What's clear is that Steve King's extreme policies, most notably his vocal opposition to immigration reform and hostile attitude toward immigrants, are now front and center in today's Republican Party, and supported by most of the 2016 GOP presidential field,” Iowa Democratic Party spokesman Sam Lau said in the statement.

King said he believes Cruz can unite Republicans and win a general election, even though Cruz's efforts in the Senate have occasionally caused friction within the Republican Party.

King said he even believes Cruz can gain support from the 'establishment wing” of the Republican Party, with which Cruz often is at odds and whom he frequently criticizes on the campaign trail.

'If he's getting close to the nomination, the establishment wing is going to look and say, ‘OK, the establishment wing is going to be supportive,'” King said. 'I think I give the establishment everything they want (in terms of policy), and Ted Cruz matches up with that.”

Earlier this month, Cruz and three other presidential candidates joined King on his annual pheasant hunt near Akron, Iowa.