Ted Cruz Wants Another Crack at the White House: 'I Hope To Run Again'
Sen. Ted Cruz may have come up short of securing the Republican nomination for president in 2016, but it doesn’t appear that it will deter him from running again in 2024.
“Look, I hope to run again,” the Texas Republican told the Christian Science Monitor at a Thursday event in Washington, D.C.
“We came very, very close in 2016. And it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”
Cruz, who was first elected to the Senate in 2012, will not receive a chance to relive the fun of a presidential campaign in 2020, as President Donald Trump seeks a second term in the Oval Office.
If the president loses that bid, Cruz seems poised for a run in the next cycle. Even if Trump wins re-election, he will be ineligible to run again.
The Texas senator tied his legislative experience and 2016 presidential run to a possible 2024 campaign.
“The great thing is, every issue I was fighting for in the presidential campaign is front and center in the Senate.”
Recently, Cruz has fought for legislation aimed at preventing gun violence.
“Congress needs to act,” he told the Christian Science Monitor. “The gun control crowd saying that the only alternative to what they are pushing is do nothing — that is an empty straw man.
“One of the very first pieces of legislation I introduced in the Senate was legislation focused on violent gun crime, stopping gun crimes. And the way to do that is you target the bad guys.
“You target felons and target fugitives. You target those with serious mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves and others.”
Cruz’s stance on gun legislation has received media attention after the senator agreed to meet with actress and activist Alyssa Milano to discuss gun reform in Washington, D.C.
But Cruz’s comments were not limited to guns and a potential 2024 presidential run; he also discussed changing voting demographics that could affect both congressional and presidential elections.
In particular, Cruz voiced concerns about Texas becoming more purple as Democrats make inroads in a state with a deep red history.
“Texas is going to be hotly contested in 2020. I believe the president will win Texas. I think it will be closer than last time.”
“The far left is pissed off. They hate the president and that is a powerful motivator,” Cruz said. “If the left shows up in massive numbers and everybody else doesn’t, that’s how we end up with an incredibly damaging election.”
Trump won Texas by a margin of 9 percent in 2016, according to Ballotpedia. By contrast, Mitt Romney carried the state by nearly 16 percent in 2012 and John McCain by almost 12 in 2008.
Cruz also referenced his own relatively narrow win against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke in the 2018 Senate election, a race Cruz won by less than 3 percent.
“I think the Texas election in 2018 is powerful foreshadowing for what to expect across the country in 2020,” the Texas senator said, according to Politico.
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