Kelly Shackelford and Hon. Ed Meese Endorse Cruz for Senate
Shackelford Will Serve as Chairman of the Cruz for Senate Statewide Leadership Team
Meese Will Serve as Chairman of the Cruz for Senate National Leadership Team
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AUSTIN, Texas—Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of Liberty Institute, and The Honorable Edwin Meese III, former U.S. Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, announced today that they are both endorsing Ted Cruz’s campaign for U.S. Senate based on his proven conservative record, strong grassroots support across the state, and ability to win. In addition, the Cruz campaign announced that Shackelford will serve as Chairman of its Statewide Leadership Team and Meese will serve as Chairman of its National Leadership Team.
“Ted Cruz is the only candidate for Senate with a proven record of standing up and fighting for conservative principles and winning on a national level,” Shackelford said. “Others may say the right things in a Republican primary in Texas, but Ted has shown again and again by action that we can trust him to be a true conservative leader in Washington.”
Gen. Meese said: “I’ve known Ted Cruz for over a decade, and he’s a strong, principled conservative in the tradition of Ronald Reagan. We need serious leadership in the U.S. Senate to stop the Obama agenda. Ted will lead the fight alongside Senators Jim DeMint, Mike Lee and Marco Rubio.”
Shackelford added: “Ted is the rare candidate who combines the ability to relentlessly and effectively defend the Constitution, articulate our conservative principles, and mount a strong campaign all across Texas. I’m proud to stand behind him wholeheartedly.”
Meese holds the Ronald Reagan Chair in Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, where he is responsible for keeping the late President’s legacy of conservative principles alive in public debate and discourse.
Meese also is Chairman of Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, founded in 2001 to educate government officials, the media, and the public about the Constitution, legal principles, and how they affect public policy.
Shackelford is one of the most trusted conservative leaders in Texas. Fighting on the front lines of many conservative battles throughout the years, Shackelford recently defended the King Street Patriots in Houston in their efforts to crack down on voter fraud. In addition, he defended the right of a Tea Party activist in the Fort Worth area to display a sign outside a polling location. He is also representing Hannah Giles in her high-profile case to expose ACORN corruption.
“When it comes to defending the Constitution, individual liberty and other Tea Party values, no other candidate has a record nearly as strong as Ted Cruz,” Shackelford said. “It would be tragic for conservatives to split their vote in Texas, making way for a moderate to win. Fortunately, conservatives are uniting. Ted Cruz is a true warrior for liberty, and I encourage all conservatives across Texas to continue to unite around his campaign. Once elected, Ted will become a national star and leader immediately.”
Cruz and Shackelford have worked side by side on many conservative fights. Together, they successfully defended the Texas Ten Commandments Monument, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Texas Moment of Silence law, and the federal Partial Birth Abortion Act.
Most recently, Ted and Kelly successfully represented more than four million veterans before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case defending the constitutionality of the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial. In Salazar v. Buono, Ted and Kelly represented The American Legion, The Veterans of Foreign Wars, The Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the American Ex-Prisoners of War, in defense of a 75-year-old memorial to World War I veterans that was under attack by the ACLU. And they won 5-4.
Shackelford is a constitutional expert who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, has testified in Congress on constitutional issues, and has won numerous landmark First Amendment and religious liberty cases before the Texas Supreme Court. This year, he was named one of the 25 greatest Texas Lawyers in the past quarter-century by Texas Lawyer Magazine. He has also taken a leading national role in defending school prayer and other cases of religious expression in public places, including the important so called “Candy Cane” case, as well as defending marriage between one man and one woman.
“There are few people I’d rather have in a foxhole with me when defending liberty than Kelly Shackelford,” Cruz said. “He has fought tirelessly for over a decade to preserve the Constitution and America’s founding principles. I’m deeply grateful for Kelly’s support of our campaign to take back our federal government and restore it to the people.”
“Attorney General Meese is a hero to the conservative movement,” Cruz said. “For decades, he served by President Reagan’s side, as a stalwart defender of limited government, individual liberty, and the Constitution. I am humbled and honored to have General Meese’s support, and I look forward to continue working with him to preserve American Exceptionalism and our Nation’s legacy as a ‘Shining City on a Hill.’”
In addition to Shackelford and Meese, Cruz has also been endorsed by Tea Party favorite Senator Mike Lee, the Madison Project, the Club for Growth PAC, FreedomWorks PAC, RedState.com editor Erick Erickson, and national radio heavyweight Mark Levin.
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