James Dobson said this week that he's
likely to endorse Texas Senator Ted Cruz's presidential bid.
Dobson, the founder of the Christian
conservative group Focus on the Family, cited Cruz's opposition to
marriage equality and “strong record on religious liberty” in
saying that the religious right is “coalescing around” Cruz's bid
for the Republican presidential nomination.
“It does appear that evangelical
[voters] are coalescing around Senator Cruz, along with several other
coalitions within the Republican field,” Dobson said in an email to
The
Washington Post. “While things can change over time, right
now Senator Cruz's strong record on religious liberty, life and
marriage seems to be steadily attracting evangelical voters – a
trend I don't see ending any time soon.”
Dobson added that he was “very wary”
of Donald Trump – he “would be an embarrassment to the nation if
he should become our Chief Executive” – and would “never under
any circumstance vote for Hillary Clinton.”
Dobson made his remarks just days after
the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's largest
group working to undermine the Supreme Court's June finding that gay
and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry, and Bob
Vander Plaats, an influential conservative leader in Iowa,
endorsed Cruz for president.
(Related: Ted
Cruz wins gay marriage foe NOM's endorsement.)