Mark Barrett

mbarrett@citizen-times.com

Eleventh District U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows endorsed Ted Cruz for president Wednesday night and says he will go to Iowa to campaign for the senator from Texas.

"Ted Cruz is the principled, conservative leader we need in the White House," said Meadows, a second-term Republican from Jackson County, in a statement. "On issue after issue, Cruz has told the truth and done what he said he was going to do. It may not make him a lot of friends in Washington, but it is exactly what the American people expect of their leaders."

Meadows' action was no surprise. Cruz is generally regarded as the senator with the closest ties to the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the House's most conservative members that Meadows belongs to. He was a guest at a recent Cruz rally outside Greenville, South Carolina, and the two legislators co-authored a December letter asking the State Department to shut down the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Washington office.

Meadows said Cruz's difficult relations with other senators reflect one of his strengths, not a weakness.

"When you come up to Washington, D.C., they want you to be on the team up here and what most Americans want is someone who comes up here and doesn't forget the people who send them here," Meadows told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News Wednesday night.

He said on Fox that Cruz's approach is, "Let's make sure what we do is really what's right for America, not for him or the lobbyists here or the Washington cartel."

Meadows said in the statement issued by the Cruz campaign that he had worked with Cruz on "pro-Israel" initiatives and to push for school choice.

"Folks across this great nation are sick and tired of the Washington way, and demand real change. Ted Cruz is the best-positioned leader to restore power to the people and uphold the Constitution at this historic moment," Meadows said.

The other U.S. House member representing Western North Carolina, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-Lincoln, has endorsed former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Iowa's caucus will be held Monday night.