Photo credit: Dave Davidson – Prezography.com
Congressman Steve King (R-IA) notified the media this afternoon that he will be making a major Iowa Caucus announcement on Monday morning.
I think it’s safe to say that he will be making an endorsement. If he decided not to endorse he wouldn’t schedule a press conference to say that.
I suspect that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) will get the nod as he and King have been friends, and King’s son Jeff works for a PAC that backs Cruz.
I also wouldn’t be surprised by an endorsement of Donald Trump since he and King are aligned on immigration which is one of King’s top issues. Trump has also done a number of events with King. I’m pretty confident it will be Cruz.
Rick Santorum’s position on immigration also aligns well with King’s, but considering King didn’t endorse him in 2012 I would be surprised to see him do so in 2016.
I think the safe bet is a King endorsement of Ted Cruz however.
King endorsed the late Senator Fred Thompson prior to the 2008 Iowa Caucus. In 2012 he decided not to endorse. This is one of the bigger endorsements that a candidate can pick up in the state of Iowa. The FAMiLY Leader CEO and President Bob Vander Plaats is the other. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has said that he will not endorse.
While I don’t believe in a “kingmaker” type of endorsements, they do help drive a campaign narrative and bring media attention to a campaign which is extremely helpful.