Updated 4:35 pm with news of the official endorsement.
On Tuesday evening, as Congressman Raul Labrador spoke on a panel about justice reform, the National Review posted a story saying Labrador will back Ted Cruz for president.
On Wednesday, Labrador officially announced that endorsement. “Senator Ted Cruz has always been a stalwart defender of the constitution and a tireless defender of conservative principles,” Labrador said, according to Rocky Barker of the Idaho Statesman.
While Labrador praised Cruz, there’s one major issue on which the two men disagree.
Cruz recently came out against a bipartisan Senate bill on reducing mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenders, citing concern over a “crime wave.” On the other side of the Capitol, Labrador has worked with Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the House on that very issue. Labrador, an attorney, has made justice reform one of his top priorities since entering Congress in 2011. (Bryan Clark of the Idaho Falls Post-Register interviewed Labrador about his efforts in October.)
On Tuesday evening, Labrador said when considering candidates, he looks at their full record, not stances on single bills.
“Every person who is running for president disagrees with me on one or more issue,” Labrador said. “There’s no such thing as a perfect candidate.”
