Sarah Palin endorses Trump

Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee who became a Tea Party sensation and a favourite of grass-roots conservatives, endorsed Donald J. Trump in Iowa on Tuesday, providing Trump with a potentially significant boost just 13 days before the state’s caucuses.

“Are you ready to make America great again?” Palin said with Trump by her side at a rally at Iowa State University. “Are you ready to stump for Trump? I’m here to support the next president of the United States — Donald Trump.”

Her support is the highest-profile backing for a Republican contender so far.

It came the same day that Iowa’s Republican governor, Terry Branstad, said he hopes that Sen. Ted Cruz will be defeated in Iowa, where the February 1 caucuses are a must-win for the Texas senator, who is running neck-and-neck with Trump in state polls.The endorsement came as Trump was bearing down in the state, holding multiple campaign events and raising expectations about his performance in the race’s first nominating contest.

“I am greatly honoured to receive Sarah’s endorsement,” Trump said in a statement trumpeting Palin’s decision. “She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support.”

In Iowa, where Palin spent years developing support, the endorsement could be especially helpful. Trump has faced questions about whether his campaign’s organising muscle can draw the voters to match his poll numbers come caucus night.

“Over the years Palin has actually cultivated a number of relationships in Iowa,” said Craig Robinson, the former political director of the Republican Party of Iowa and publisher of the website The Iowa Republican. “There are the Tea Party activists who still think she’s great and a breath of fresh air, but she also did a good job of courting Republican donors in the state,” he added.

Other conservatives said that Palin serves as a particularly effective shield against Cruz, who has assiduously courted Iowa’s evangelical voters.

“Palin’s brand among evangelicals is as gold as the faucets in Trump tower,” said Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

“Endorsements alone don’t guarantee victory, but Palin’s embrace of Trump may turn the fight over the evangelical vote into a war for the soul of the party,” he said.

Palin could amplify the news media-circus aspects of Trump’s candidacy: Like him, she is a reality-TV star accustomed to playing to the cameras and often accused of emphasising flash over substance.

What’s more, while Trump has already shown the ability to garner wall-to-wall cable-news coverage, Palin’s active involvement in his campaign could help him deprive Cruz of vital attention in the homestretch to the February 1 caucuses.

As rumours circulated that the endorsement was about to happen, Cruz offered praise for his former close political ally after an aide to the senator mocked the pending endorsement earlier Tuesday.