Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has indicated an interest in running for president again in 2024, amid rumors that former President Donald Trump may also run, according to a Spectrum News report.
The senator from Texas previously campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 but was defeated by Trump, who went on to become the 45th president.
Cruz also said that the 2016 presidential campaign "was the most fun I ever had in my life," and he expressed optimism regarding his chances due to his emergence as the Republican field's runner-up four years ago.
“There’s a reason, historically, that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee,” Cruz said. “And that’s been true going back to Nixon, or Reagan, or McCain or Romney that has played out repeatedly. You come in with just an enormous base of support.”
Initially, he declined to support Trump after he secured the majority of delegates at the Republican National Convention, as the two were embroiled in an online confrontation on social media.
Cruz eventually reversed his position and became an avid supporter of Trump throughout the Republican primary campaign against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
He continued to support Trump after his candidacy for president and has advocated for him on several occasions, including leading the campaign to persuade Congress to vote against recognizing the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election on Jan. 6.
Cruz, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also takes pride in acting as a check on President Joe Biden's federal appointment picks, according to a Yahoo News report.
Last December, Cruz brokered an agreement with Senate Democrats, agreeing to remove over 30 of his blocks on State and Treasury candidates in exchange for a January vote on sanctioning companies engaged in the $11 billion natural gas project.
"Major victory," Cruz stated on Twitter. "When the Senate reconvenes, we'll finally have a vote on sanctioning Putin's pipeline. And if senators value national security and are willing to stand up to Putin, we should vote overwhelmingly to sanction NordStream2."
Cruz has been instrumental in delaying Biden nominations, utilizing the delays as political leverage following the president's May decision to relax sanctions on the company developing Nord Stream 2.