Cruz Opens Door to 2028 Bid
Senator Ted Cruz has quietly started asking people if they would join a 2028 presidential campaign. This report came out Wednesday according to Breitbart. Iowa has been visited three times this year by the Texas Republican to connect with voters. He also promoted a new book and appeared on many podcasts.
Cruz refused to say if President Trump’s endorsement would decide the race. “It carries weight, but I think the voters are going to make their own determination,” Cruz said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has not backed any successor yet. The president called Cruz talented in late August but stopped short of a full endorsement.
Cruz has been clear about his goals. “It’s no secret that I want to be president. I ran for president,” he told a podcast hosted by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. When asked if he would run again, he simply said, “Time will tell.”
Cruz Takes Aim at Vance
The senator has started criticizing Vice President JD Vance, who leads early polls. Cruz attacked Vance over a collapsed agreement with Iran. “JD negotiated the MOU with Iran. That was a terrible deal,” Cruz said. Vance’s allies say Cruz will not be a real threat to the vice president.
Steve Bannon, a former Trump strategist, was much harsher in his view. “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. Donors were told by Trump this summer that “at the end of the day, we need to elect JD.”
Iowa voters did not immediately line up behind Cruz either. At a BBQ Bash last Saturday, voters named Vance and Marco Rubio before mentioning Cruz. Cruz used his speech to claim he wrote the “No tax on tips” policy. He said he pushed to include child investment accounts in last year’s tax bill.
A Second Chance at the Nomination
For Cruz, this could be a do-over after 2016. The Washington Examiner noted that he had the best chance of any movement conservative since Ronald Reagan. Cruz beat Trump in Iowa that year, preventing a quick coronation for the future president. He reminded reporters that his campaign raised more money than George W. Bush or Mitt Romney.
Cruz told the Examiner that his 2016 campaign was “the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.” He noted that his team won 12 states and received 8 million votes. Only Trump and Cruz won more than one state that year. Cruz refused to endorse Trump at the 2016 convention but later supported him in three general elections.
This time, Cruz wants to test his ideas against the new populism. He asked if the party should be “a small-government, free-market conservative party” or “a big-government, nanny-state party.” Marco Rubio ruled himself out in May, saying he would be the first to sign up for and support Cruz if he runs.
