Sen. Ted Cruz, once President-elect Donald Trump's rival on the campaign trail, said Trump's win last week also signified a victory for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Scalia, who served as a Supreme Court justice for more than 29 years, died suddenly in February. He was a conservative justice, and Trump vowed to replace him with another justice with right-leaning views.

"President-elect Trump assured the American people that if elected, he would nominate a constitutionalist in the mold of Justice Scalia. So in a very real respect, Justice Scalia was on the ballot as well," Cruz said at the Federalist Society's National Lawyers Convention Friday, the Washington Examiner reports.

"And thanks to the historic victory we saw last week, it gives me immense pleasure to say the people have spoken and Justice Scalia has won as well."

President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the chief judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to replace Scalia. Republican lawmakers, however, refused to hold confirmation hearings, citing the fact that 2016 was an election year.

Cruz, a lawyer and an expert in Constitutional law, has been discussed as a potential court appointee. According to the Washington Times, however, Cruz's name is not on Trump's list of potential Scalia successors.