Ted Cruz wins Iowa after running on pro-life record

“The question we ought to ask is, don’t tell me that you’re pro-life. Show me.” This was Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s final pitch to Iowa pro-life voters ahead of Monday’s presidential primary caucus. He won with 28% of the vote.

Cruz noted that “every candidate in a Republican primary says they’re pro-life. That’s what you say in a Republican primary, regardless of the facts,” so voters have to ask them, “When have you stood up and fought to defend the right to life?”

Cruz promised to open a federal investigation into Planned Parenthood’s fetal organ sales on his first day in office, cited his own record as Solicitor General of Texas – during which he defended laws prohibiting partial-birth abortion and requiring parental notification for minors’ abortions – and he spoke of his Senate leadership in the effort to defund Planned Parenthood.

Cruz also referenced competitor Donald Trump’s August comments endorsing federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which Trump later reversed to suggest the abortion giant should only receive subsidies if they cease abortions. “If you care about the right to life,” Cruz said, “there is a clear difference among candidates.”

Cruz has also said Congress has sufficient authority under the 14th Amendment to directly ban abortion, and has proposed a number of reforms to rein in activist judicial rulings such as Roe v. Wade. He does not favor rape or incest exceptions for abortion.

In the Iowa Republican caucus, Donald Trump came in second with 24% of the vote, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio was third with 23%. Pro-life former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race after getting 2% of the vote.