Sen. Ted Cruz is taking increasingly concrete steps toward another presidential campaign, privately asking potential supporters whether they would join a 2028 bid while making moves that could eventually put him in direct competition with Vice President JD Vance for the Republican nomination, according to a new report.
The Texas Republican has made three trips to Iowa this year, increased his appearances on podcasts and promoted a new book as he weighs his political future, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Cruz declined to address the report.
Cruz also suggested this week that an endorsement from President Donald Trump, while valuable in a Republican primary, would not necessarily determine the outcome of the 2028 contest.
“It carries weight, but I think the voters are going to make their own determination,” Cruz said.
The Independent interpreted Cruz’s comments as an effort to prepare for the possibility that Trump will endorse another candidate. Trump has yet to formally back a successor and, when questioned in late August about Cruz potentially running, described the Texas senator as “very talented” without offering an endorsement.
Cruz, meanwhile, has made little effort to conceal the fact that he continues to harbor presidential aspirations.
“It’s no secret that I want to be president. I ran for president,” he said during an appearance last month on a podcast hosted by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. When Patrick asked whether another campaign was coming, Cruz replied, “Time will tell.”
Cruz has also begun publicly criticizing Vance, who currently sits atop early surveys of potential Republican candidates for 2028.
“JD negotiated the MOU with Iran. That was a terrible deal,” Cruz said of the agreement that ultimately collapsed.
People close to Vance reportedly do not view Cruz as a significant threat to the vice president should both men enter the race, according to the Journal. Steve Bannon, who served as chief strategist for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, offered an even more dismissive assessment of Cruz’s prospects.
“He’s going to have plenty of money, but unfortunately he’s not a populist, he’s a throwback to the neocon and neoliberal policies of the old Republican party that’s essentially been destroyed,” Bannon said.
Trump himself has offered indications that he would like to see Vance succeed him. Speaking to donors this summer about the Republican Party’s future, Trump said that “at the end of the day, we need to elect JD.”
Cruz also appears to have work to do in Iowa, whose Republican voters traditionally play an influential role in presidential nominating contests. Cruz was the featured guest at GOP Senate nominee Ashley Hinson’s BBQ Bash last weekend, but Republicans interviewed there by the Journal mentioned Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio before naming Cruz among their preferred possibilities.
During his appearance, the three-term Texas senator emphasized his role in developing several policies that could become important components of a future Vance campaign.
“No tax on tips, I wrote that,” Cruz told the crowd. He also pointed to his efforts to have the child investment accounts known as Trump Accounts included in last year’s tax legislation.
Rubio, another prominent Republican who had been viewed as a possible 2028 contender, took himself out of consideration in May and publicly threw his support behind Vance.
“I’ve said publicly, and I’ll say it again, I’ll be the first person to sign up and support him,” the secretary of state said of Vance.
{Matzav.com}
