Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) would not speculate on whether Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) would run for reelection if former President Donald Trump wins in November.
Cruz, who is running for a third term in his Senate seat in November, said the decision is for McConnell to make himself, but did add that there is “bad blood” between Trump and McConnell, while speaking on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.
“That’s a decision for Mitch to make. Obviously, there’s a lot of bad blood between Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Mitch will have to make that decision. What I want to see is I want to see Republicans in the Senate stand and lead and fight,” Cruz said.
McConnell’s leadership and age have become topics of concern in recent years within the Senate GOP, as he faced a leadership challenge after the disastrous 2022 elections and several Senate Republicans called out McConnell and Senate leadership over the border deal — which collapsed earlier this month. McConnell is up for reelection to his Senate seat in 2026.
Cruz also predicted Republicans would have a good election in November, with Trump leading the GOP ticket, and stressed the importance of his Senate race.
“I believe November is going to be a very good election. I think we’re gonna see Donald Trump reelected as president of the United States. I think we’re gonna see Republicans keep and grow our majority in the House, and critically, I think we’re going to win the United States Senate,” Cruz said.
“Now, I will say my race here in Texas is a battleground race. The Democrats are spending over $100 million. Chuck Schumer has made clear I’m his No. 1 target. George Soros is pouring millions of dollars into the state of Texas,” he added.
Republicans have a favorable map for the Senate elections in November, with none of their currently held seats being rated as a “toss up” or “lean Republican,” according to the Cook Political Report.
The GOP’s most vulnerable seat, according to the outlet, is Cruz’s Texas seat and Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) seat, which are rated as “likely Republican.” Democrats have three seats rated as “toss up,” Arizona, Montana, and Ohio, and the seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is rated as “solid Republican.”
