Senator Ted Cruz is one conservative who Democrats in the Senate dread crossing.
And as Donald Trump’s most serious opponent in the 2016 Presidential Primary, political watchers have been keeping a close eye on him.
With the Midterm elections in the rearview mirror, the 2024 candidate field is taking shape with major announcements about Presidential and Senate campaigns.
Former President Donald Trump remains the only major Republican candidate to announce he’s running in the 2024 Presidential election.
But in the current contentious political environment, a field of GOP challengers is expected to emerge—possibly including his former VP, Mike Pence.
But one of the biggest names—and biggest threats—Trump faces has been eliminated before the primary battle even begins.
Ted Cruz (R-TX) finished second to Trump in the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary following an intense competition.
Many expected Cruz to run again in 2024—especially since he promised to only serve two terms when he was first elected to the Senate.
But Cruz shocked everyone when he announced that he won’t challenge Trump in 2024, but will launch a reelection bid for the Senate.
“I’m running for reelection to the Senate,” Cruz announced. “There’s a reason I’m in Texas today. I’m not in Iowa, I’m in Texas, and I’m fighting for 30 million Texans.”
Cruz explained his decision to support term limits for Senators while breaking his pledge by running for a third term.
“I’m a passionate defender of term limits,” Cruz explained. “I think that Congress would work much better if every Senator were limited to two terms and if every House member were limited to three terms. I’ve introduced a constitutional amendment to put that into the Constitution.”
Cruz says if his term limits amendment passes he will “happily, happily comply.”
However, he says he won’t “unilaterally comply” with term limits when nobody else in Washington, D.C.’s Swamp is going to do the same.
“I’ll tell you what, when the socialists and when the Swamp are ready to leave Washington, I will be more than happy to comply with the same rules that apply for everyone,” Cruz added. “But until then, I’m going to keep fighting for 30 million Texans because they’ve asked me to.”
Cruz’s decision allows him to start preparing for his 2024 campaign to keep a strong conservative in the Senate.
In 2018, Cruz survived an all-in attack from the left against Democrat challenger Beto O’Rourke.
No doubt, Cruz will be a major target for Democrats in 2024—especially with the explosion of Silicon Valley companies that have relocated to the Austin, Texas metro area.
In addition to launching his own reelection campaign, his announcement also answers one of the biggest questions affecting the Republican Presidential Primary.
Political Animal News will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
