At least one candidate for the U.S. Senate wants to make it known that he stands with Sen. Ted Cruz’s effort to defund Obamacare.
“I fully support any attempt to defund and repeal Obamacare,” Lieutenant Gov. Mead Treadwell of Alaska told The Daily Caller Wednesday as Texas Republican Cruz was winding down his 22-hour quasi-filibuster. “I applaud Senator Ted Cruz and the principled members of the Senate as they fight for the American people to get rid of Obamacare. When I am elected in November 2014 I will stand and work with Senators like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.”
Treadwell is currently running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. He is expected to face off against attorney Joe Miller and natural resources commissioner Dan Sullivan in the GOP primary.
If he wins, Treadwell will face Mark Begich, one of several red state Democrats who voted for Obamacare.
“I believe that Mark Begich is the real challenge in this election, and we’re going to work very, very hard to make sure that Alaska has a voice that represents Alaskans, that stands with Alaska, and doesn’t vote for things like Obamacare,” Treadwell said in an interview with CQ Roll Call last week.
Cruz held the Senate floor for nearly a day from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday noon. The freshman senator was speaking to prevent a House version of a spending resolution from reaching the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has vowed to strip out language from the bill that would defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which begins enrollment in October. (Related: Ted Cruz continues speech throughout the night)
Cruz, along with Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, has been targeted by Republican leadership for taking a firm stand against the costly and unpopular overhaul of America’s health care system.
Update: A spokesman for Joe Miller notes that Miller has a record of supporting Cruz and Lee. “Joe has been standing strongly with fellow tea partiers Cruz and Lee and has signed the Senate Conservatives Fund pledge to defund Obamacare,” the spokesman told The Daily Caller in an email. “Unless, Mead just signed on today, he has not. He is shown as a thumbs down on their site.”