Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz. The governor spoke with WIBC for a noon interview.

"I see Ted Cruz as a principled conservative who has spend his entire career working for the Reagan agenda. I am pleased to support him," Pence said.

Pence said he thinks Cruz has shown the power of his own convictions. The governor also said while he respects the rights of every Hoosier to decide, he said to lead is to choose. "I wanted to make my decision known."



"At the end of the day, I am very confident our party will come together and deliver and great victory in the fall," the governor said.



Cruz said Friday that he'd "enthusiastically welcome" Pence's support before the state's primary Tuesday. Cruz needs a victory after getting swept by GOP front-runner Donald Trump in five Northeastern states earlier in the week.



The Pence endorsement marks a setback for Trump, who has appealed to the governor not to make an endorsement.

"At a time when an overwhelming majority of Hoosiers support LGBT equality, Ted Cruz and Mike Pence couldn’t be more wrong or out of touch with voters across Indiana," Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof said in a statement.

Peter Hanscom, director of Hillary Clinton's campaign in Indiana, released the following statement following the governor's endorsement:

"Republicans like Governor Mike Pence support divisive policies that allow discrimination against LGBT Americans and attack women's rights. Hillary will stand up to these extreme Republican attacks - starting with Governor Pence's unprecedented effort to roll back women's rights.

"Instead of dividing our country, Hoosiers deserve a leader who will bring people together to get results on our toughest challenges. Hillary has real solutions to break down the barriers that hold too many people back and to build ladders of opportunity for all Americans."

Cruz and his recently announced running mate, Carly Fiorina, are continuing their campaign tour around Indiana, leading up to Indiana's May 3 primary.

Their tour began Friday with a 10 a.m. rally inside the Indiana War Memorial in downtown Indianapolis. They also took part in separate Q&A sessions with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity.



Cruz and Fiorina are then expected to part ways for the rest of Friday's campaigning.



Cruz will head south for a rally at Kye's in Jeffersonville. That event will start at 3:30 p.m. After that, the GOP candidate will head west to Evansville for a 6 p.m. rally at the Pie Pan Restaurant on North Park Drive.