Leading senator will not choose between Cruz, Rubio

WASHINGTON—As rival presidential campaigns battle for endorsements, a leading conservative U.S. senator told WORLD he still has no plans to back any one Republican candidate.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has worked closely with fellow GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Marco Rubio of Florida, and he said Paul’s exit from the race this week does not spur him to take a side.

“It would be a very difficult thing to endorse any one of them, because by endorsing any one of them, it sort of feels like endorsing against the other two,” Lee said during an interview for an upcoming WORLD Magazine profile. “If [only] one of them were running for president, I would have endorsed that person probably a year ago.”

Paul suspended his campaign Wednesday amid a fifth-place finish in Iowa, sagging poll numbers, and a competitive Senate reelection fight this fall. He has not endorsed another candidate.

Cruz and Rubio are engaged in an increasingly bitter battle to emerge as the chief alternative to billionaire businessman Donald Trump, who leads national polls. Trump finished 3 points behind Cruz and 1 point ahead of Rubio in Iowa and leads the field in New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday’s primary.

Lee, who is up for reelection in November, made it clear he will endorse the winner of the Cruz-Rubio brawl.

“One [friend] has dropped out, and there may come a time when the other one drops out,” Lee said. “If we ever get to the point where there’s only one in the race, either formally or practically speaking, I will endorse that person.”

Rubio leads the GOP presidential field with endorsements from six U.S. senators and 30 House members. Cruz has collected 19 House endorsements but is still in search of his first from a Senate colleague.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, with four, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, with one, are the only other GOP candidates with Senate endorsements.

Lee’s endorsement would be a key conservative confirmation for any candidate. Heritage Action ranks Lee and Cruz as the two most conservative U.S. senators, each with a perfect 100 percent score. Rubio is fourth at 94 percent, and Paul is eighth at 90 percent.

FRC Action, the political arm of the Family Research Council, gives Cruz, Lee, and Rubio perfect ratings, while Paul is scored at 82 percent.

Despite the strong reviews, Rubio’s backing from some establishment elements of the Republican Party has led Cruz to paint the senator from Florida as a moderate—particularly citing his previous support for comprehensive immigration reform.

The attacks have proven effective with parts of the Republican base and put Rubio on defense. This week his campaign released an ad touting his conservative scores and quoting conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh saying, “I don’t see Marco Rubio as anything but a full-throated conservative.”

Lee’s remarks not only boost Rubio’s conservative bona fides, they also debunk Trump’s claim that Cruz has no friends in the Senate.

Lee isn’t the only very conservative senator to support both candidates: Freshman Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., whom Heritage Action scores at 94 percent, campaigned with both Cruz and Rubio in Iowa.