Cruz Campaign Press Release - Cruz for President Announces Endorsement of Pastor Paul Blair

HOUSTON, Texas — Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today announced the endorsement of Paul Blair, President of Reclaiming America for Christ and the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church.

Blair was raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, and spent five years in the NFL. Since 2001, he has served as the Senior Pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. Pastor Blair speaks around the United States on the topics of Christian apologetics, a biblical worldview, Islam, and the nation's Christian heritage. He is also a member of the Council for National Policy.

Pastor Blair was named Oklahoma's Pastor of the Year by Bott Radio Network, and National Pastor of the Year in 2011 by Vision America. His radio ministry, Exploring the Word, airs weekdays on Bott Radio Network in Oklahoma, and received the Excellence in Broadcasting Award this year.

"I have been a voter for 34 years," Pastor Blair said. "There are several very committed followers of Jesus Christ in this race, some of whom I have supported in the past. However, I am endorsing Ted Cruz for the office of President of these United States. Senator Ted Cruz has the knowledge and the character to rip the Washington cartel out by the roots, restore limited Constitutional government, and re-align the proper balance of power between Washington DC, and the sovereign states."

"Ted is a born again, Bible-believing Christian and family man," Blair continued. "He has a proven record — a history of fighting for liberty, first as Solicitor General for Texas and now as U.S. Senator. And while the 'conservative' candidate often doesn't have the organization or the money to win, Ted Cruz has both. Washington has illegally acquired too much power. With a bankrupt Social Security system, $19 trillion of federal debt, and the Middle East on fire, we cannot afford to elect another president who will abuse the Constitution."

"Pastor Blair has been a leader for life and marriage in Oklahoma and beyond," Ted Cruz said. "I am honored to have the support of Pastor Blair, who has been a friend of natural marriage and an advocate for unborn life. He set out to walk in the footsteps of the colonial pastors who fought for "liberty from tyranny," and he has done so. I'm grateful for Pastor Blair's willingness to be a 'watchman on the wall.'

In 2008, Blair partnered with the Alliance Defense Fund as a leader of "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," in which pastors around the nation challenged the Johnson Amendment, which banned tax-exempt organizations from endorsing candidates for public office. He is a leader of the Protect Life and Marriage OK! petition.