Before there was Ted Cruz, there was Phil Gramm — conservative firebrand Texas senators turned Republican presidential candidates.
But Gramm is endorsing Marco Rubio for president instead.
“He’s the best prepared on national security,” Gramm told the Dallas Morning News. “He can win the general election.”
Gramm’s comments about Cruz were less effusive. “We all do things in our own way,” he said. “There’s no doubt about the fact that Cruz is a leading candidate for president right now. So obviously, he’s done something right.”
Cruz was elected to the Senate to from Texas in 2012 to succeed Gramm’s former colleague Kay Bailey Hutchison, a more moderate Republican. Gramm served in the Senate from 1985 to 2003. He was previously in the House, where he switched from conservative Democrat to Republican after voting for President Reagan’s budget and economic plan.
Gramm also unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1996. He raised a significant amount of money but dropped out of the race after disappointing showings in the Louisiana and Iowa caucuses.
This isn’t the first time Gramm has expressed enthusiasm for Rubio.
“If I was going to invest my money I’d invest it with Trump, but my vote would go to Rubio,” he said in December. “I just think he’s got a Reaganesque quality to him. He can state strong positions and still smile. His optimism shines in an era where people are not very optimistic.”
Gramm has also donated money to the Florida senator’s presidential campaign. But will he campaign for him in Texas?
“Nobody cares what I think,” he told the Dallas newspaper. “I’m an old has-been.”
