Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and previous contender in the U.S. presidential race, has thrown her support to presidential hopeful Donald Trump. She announced her support for Trump in Iowa early this week.
This Palin endorsement represents a considerable boost to the candidacy of the Wall Street tycoon in the upcoming state conventions.
By far, this is the highest-profile endorsement that Trump received. Palin's declaration of support was given at the time when Terry Branstad, the Republican governor of Iowa, stated that he wants Sen. Ted Cruz to be defeated in the state.
Cruz, the senator from Texas is neck-to-neck with Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Palin announced her support as Trump was going around the state conducting campaign events in an effort to show his ability to win the party's initial nominating contest.
"I am greatly honored to receive Sarah's endorsement," says Trump in announcing his elation over Palin's endorsement. "She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support," he adds.
Previously, there were questions about the ability of Trump to rally enough supporters so that he can gather enough votes to win the caucus. There were doubts about the strength and effectiveness of his campaign organization. But with the many years spent by Palin in developing support, her endorsement of Trump's candidacy may make a great difference come nomination night.
It was thought that Palin would endorse Cruz since both are Tea Party members. They also share kinship with their religious ideology. This shows that the alliances within the GOP are very fluid. Things appear to change in a whim when it comes to party affiliations.
It was manifested when Trump started attacking Cruz. His supporters from the Tea Party urged him to back off. And now, Palin, a Tea Party stalwart goes to Trump's camp.
