WASHINGTON _ Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said he will do whatever he can to defeat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, including campaigning for Donald Trump and helping with debate preparation.
Cruz has been criticized for refusing to endorse Trump during the party's convention in July before offering one on Friday.
"If I were being political, I would have endorsed Donald Trump back in Cleveland at the convention," the Texas senator told talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday.
Rather, he told Hewitt he withheld his endorsement until the Trump campaign released a list of 21 potential judges to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
When he sat down with vice presidential nominee Mike Pence three weeks ago, the Supreme Court was the major issue he said would make him come aboard. Once the list was finalized and released, Cruz said he was pleased with the candidates.
"It's a terrific list, and the commitment on Friday they made that they would only nominate from that list, to me, was a big deal, and that was enough to move me over to a yes," Cruz said.
Cruz, who won the Princeton Debate Panel's Team of the Year award in 1992 with his partner Dave Panton and went on to debate during his time at Harvard Law School, added he is "happy to help" Trump with debate prep.
Aside from stopping Clinton, retaining a Republican majority in the Senate is another focus for Cruz.
