Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum threw his support behind Ted Cruz in Texas’ Republican Senate primary Thursday, saying that he has the “wow factor” necessary to successfully convey the conservative message to a wider audience.
Santorum made the endorsement on Glenn Beck’s radio show.
Supporters of Cruz have tended to focus on his strong conservative credentials, comparing him to sitting senators like Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, and Pat Toomey. But Santorum said that this factor alone was not enough.
“Electing someone who’s going to be a good vote is great, I’m all for that, that we need someone who’s going be a principled conservative to go to Washington, D.C. and vote the right way,” Santorum said, speaking later on KTRH radio to Michael Berry.
“What we really need, and what we don’t have, are people who strongly can communicate and passionately deliver the message on a variety of different fronts – not just on taxes and spending but on the culture and on national security.”
“The first time I saw [Cruz] speak was about five or six years ago, and I just said ‘wow, this guy is amazing.’ And we need someone who has the wow factor, who can go out there in front of the media, go on the floor of the United States Senate, and deliver a strong and passionate message. Who has a deep understanding of who he is, who this country is, what makes it great, and can fashion arguments and engage in debate on the floor of the United States Senate,” he added.
That “wow factor” is not just a negligible luxury, Santorum said.
“It is hugely important. It drives the media; it drives the debate in Washington, D.C. And it is vitally important that we have someone with Ted’s ability and his convictions in that position,” he said.
Santorum said he was unsure if he would make it out to Texas to campaign with Cruz, the state’s former solicitor general, before the May 29 primary, but that he was “working on that.”
The endorsement pits Santorum against one of his former rivals for president, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is supporting his Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in the race. The most recent Texas poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, shows Dewhurst leading Cruz 38 percent to 26 percent.
The two other contenders, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and ESPN commentator Craig James, are only polling in the single digits.
If no candidate gets over 50 percent in the primary, the top two contenders will head into a run-off at the end of July.