Cruz bullish on his 2024 chances: ‘The runner-up is almost always the next nominee’

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he would “absolutely” consider running for president in 2024, arguing he was in a good position to win the race because he was the runner-up for the Republican nomination in 2016.

“Absolutely. In a heartbeat,” Cruz told The Truth Gazette on Wednesday when asked whether he would consider a run in 2024. “There’s a reason historically that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee.”

EXCLUSIVE: I asked Sen. @TedCruz if he would ever consider another run for President.

His response: “Absolutely, in a heartbeat. I ran in 2016…very strong field and I ended up placing 2nd.”

“…there’s a reason historically that the runner up is almost always the next nominee.” pic.twitter.com/5U3EhkqgXp

— The Truth Gazette (@Truth_Gazette) December 22, 2021

Cruz previously ran for president in 2016. The senator lost the Republican nomination to former President Trump but placed second in the primary. Cruz said Wednesday that because of his placement in the 2016 primary, he would come into the 2024 race “with an enormous base of support.”

If Cruz does run, he would still face a tough primary considering the loyal base of supporters rallying around Trump. While the former president has not announced a 2024 run yet, he has not ruled out the possibility either. Trump has also kept up a constant stream of statements and interviews since his loss to President Biden in 2020.

Cruz and Trump clashed in the 2016 primary, but the senator endorsed Trump in 2016 and has since become a loyal supporter of the former president. Cruz has also supported Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

In his home state, Cruz narrowly won his last reelection bid for the U.S. Senate in 2018, beating out former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) by 219,000 votes.

Last winter, Cruz was scrutinized statewide for heading to Cancun, Mexico, while Texas grappled with a deadly winter ice storm.

This story was updated at 6:03 p.m.