Sen. Ted Cruz hinted that he may be running for president again in the future and said not to count Gov. Ron DeSantis out of the presidential race.
‘When I ran in 2016 – the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. And we came incredibly close to winning,’ he told DailyMail.com in an interview.
In 2016 the Texas Republican won Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, a key grab for any presidential candidate who hopes for a shot at winning. He went on to win the second-most states and delegates behind former President Donald Trump.
A one-time Trump antagonist, Cruz became a loyal ally of the former president in the Senate throughout his term.
The senator said he is staying out of the presidential fight this go-around, adding that he speaks regularly with both Trump and DeSantis.
While Trump is far ahead in the polls, Cruz predicted the race is still up for grabs.
What’s happening on college campuses currently is ‘a perfect example’ of what his book is about, Cruz told DailyMail.com
‘I think it is a two-man race between Trump and DeSantis. I think conventional wisdom has been wrong at many stages in this race. I think there’s still a real race playing out and the primary voters will decide.’
‘I’m leaving it to the voters. Whoever wins the nomination, I will enthusiastically support,’ he added.
Cruz spoke with DailyMail.com on the night of the release of his new book: ‘Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.’
With two of his close allies in the race, Cruz opted out of giving the presidency a go this cycle.
‘We’ll see what the future holds,’ the 52-year-old said. ‘But I can tell you is that I am committed with all my heart to being in this fight to save our country right now, the battleground is the Senate.’
Cruz had toyed with the idea of running in 2024 before Trump and DeSantis jumped into the race. The senator’s go-to campaign man in 2016, Jeff Roe of Axiom Strategies, is now running DeSantis’ campaign.
Cruz said the key to success in a Republican primary now is courting working-class voters.
‘In almost every state, either Trump was one and I was two among blue collar voters, or I was one and he was two among blue collar voters,’ said Cruz.
On the Democratic side, Cruz again predicted that Michelle Obama would be asked to replace Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.
‘If Biden dropped out tomorrow, I think the top tier would be, for Democrats, it would be Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Gavin Newsom. I think Elizabeth Warren wins that.’
He called her the ‘id of the Democratic Party.’
Cruz, right, on the debate stage in 2016 with Donald Trump
‘It is where they are – she is a cultural Marxist. That is where the Democratic base is today.’
‘That being said, I don’t think Biden’s gonna drop out tomorrow. What I think is most likely is for the party to pull the cord on him at the convention next summer.’
He said the Democratic Party could not replace Harris with someone like California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
‘It is structurally impossible for them to replace an African American woman with a white guy. I think their base would lose its mind,’ he said.
‘Now I also think the Democrats are terrified about having Kamala at the top of the ticket because they think she’d lose and they’re probably right which is what leads me to Michelle Obama. Michelle is the one person who can replace Kamala Harris without causing that uproar. And because she’s a former First Lady, the Democrats don’t have to pick from among that top tier of contenders. They just parachute someone in, who’s arguably starting on a higher plane.’
‘The one question I don’t know is would she take it? She obviously didn’t run on her own. But it’s a different story being handed the nomination three months away from the general election.’