Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is prepping a $100 million campaign as he mulls reelection to the Senate or a run for president in 2024.
Top of mind for the Texas Republican is former President Donald Trump; whether Trump mounts a third White House bid will influence Cruz’s next move. But one decision is firm: The senator will be on the ballot in 2024. To leave open the option of seeking a third Senate term or waging a strong bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Cruz has taken steps this election cycle to woo grassroots conservatives and curry favor with party insiders — in Texas and across the country.
“Everyone’s going to wait and see what Trump decides and then make decisions from there,” Trump told Fox News in an interview late last week. “I can tell you this: I am committed to fighting to save this country with every breath in my body.”
Cruz is on track to raise more than $4 million for a handpicked collection of Republican House candidates as part of his “22 for ‘22” program to assist GOP efforts to win congressional majorities on Nov. 8, similar to his “20 for ‘20” joint fundraising committee from last cycle. As part of 22 for ’22, the senator is hosting a donor retreat at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, with special guests including journalist Megyn Kelly, conservative talk show host Jesse Kelly, and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).
Later this fall, Cruz is scheduled to hit the road for a monthlong, cross-country bus tour promoting Republican House and Senate candidates. The trip is to be funded by Cruz’s super PAC, Truth and Courage, launched by his allies late last year. Truth and Courage raised $4.4 million through June 30, reporting $1.9 million in cash on hand. The senator’s political advisers expect the super PAC to have raised up to $7 million by year’s end.
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Cruz is using resources to pay for daylong “conclaves” to train Republican volunteers on effective grassroots organizing and political activism. The sessions, one held in Wisconsin and another upcoming in Georgia, are led by Cruz and members of his political team.
Meanwhile, Cruz has invested in female Hispanic Republicans, running a $150,000 independent expenditure advertising blitz for Cassy Garcia out of his personal Senate campaign account, helping her win the GOP nomination in Texas’s 28th Congressional District, held by Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar. Additionally, Truth and Courage spent more than $100,000 to push Yesli Vega over the top in the GOP primary in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, held by Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
“Sen. Cruz is laser-focused on using his national donor network and grassroots network to take back the House and Senate in 2022,” Cruz spokesman Sam Cooper said Thursday, confirming details of the senator’s activities.
Cruz, 51, was the runner-up for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and remains a prominent and sometimes polarizing party figure. The senator has lately been the subject of numerous death threats and now has round-the-clock, private security at his home in Houston, plus a plainclothes Capitol Hill Police Department security detail accompanying him wherever he goes in Washington. Although Cruz is downplaying his White House ambitions in deference to Trump, he clearly covets another run.
Over the years, the GOP has nominated previous runners-up at the next available opportunity, most recently the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in 2008 and now-Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in 2012. Cruz has repeatedly said running for president is the most fun he ever had, other than losing, and he pointedly is not ruling out a second White House bid should Trump jump into the race. His actions since Joe Biden ousted Trump in 2020 reflect that.
The senator is cultivating wealthy donors who write big checks and continues to build his file of online grassroots contributors who give in small amounts. This cycle alone, Cruz has raised $16.7 million while spending $17.6 million, part of an aggressive strategy to expand his political operation and grow his digital donor file, which now stands at more than 220,000 active donors and 1 million-plus donors overall.
The senator is adding communications advisers, focusing on his podcast, Verdict, and, of course, publishing a book in September, the surest sign a presidential bid is under consideration. Under Texas law, Cruz can run for president and Senate simultaneously, meaning he would not be forced to choose between the two. “If Trump doesn’t run, he’s putting himself into position to be a serious 2024 player,” a Republican supporter said.
Cruz has strengths — a developed political operation, a strong work ethic, a presidential run under his belt, and an enviable small-dollar donor file, to name a few. The senator also understands the psychology of the Republican base, which prefers street fighters over statesmen and is driven by conservative populism. Cruz long ago made his peace with Trump, also crucial to his chances for success in 2024.
A Trump candidacy might place an insurmountable roadblock between Cruz and the nomination from the outset because it’s nearly impossible for any Republican to prove themselves more of a populist fighter than the former president, at least in the eyes of GOP primary voters. But a Trump candidacy is not the only pitfall threatening to derail a Cruz bid in 2024. Senior Republicans said the senator has two problems: Likability and a rationale for running.
“If you’re asking: Is he warm and fuzzy and likable? That’s not hard to figure out,” a veteran Republican operative said. “He’s not.”
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A second GOP bigwig said Cruz also is missing a compelling reason for Republicans to rally around his candidacy. In 2015, when the senator launched his first bid, it was his effort to kill Obamacare. It didn’t work, and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill were furious about it. But grassroots conservatives loved that he tried, and the reputation Cruz cultivated out of that experience made him unique.
“What has he done in last several years?” this GOP insider said. “What’s Ted’s argument? What’s special about him?”
