Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is considering another bid for the White House in 2024 amid speculation 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.
Despite speculations that Trump may run for president again in 2024, Cruz told the Truth Gazette that he would run again "in a heartbeat."
Cruz remarked that the 2016 presidential campaign was “was the most fun I ever had in my life,” and he felt optimistic in his prospects, owing to his emergence as the GOP field's runner-up four years ago.
“There’s a reason, historically, that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee,” Cruz continued. “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.”
He initially refused to endorse Trump after he had won the majority of delegates at the Republican National Convention, as the two were embroiled in an online confrontation on social media.
However, Cruz later relented and became a vocal supporter of Trump during the Republican primary campaign against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
He continued to support Trump following his nomination for president and has since supported and advocated for him on several occasions, including spearheading the effort 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 serving as a hurdle to Pres. Joe Biden's choices for federal positions, according to a Yahoo News report.
Last December, Cruz made a deal with Senate Democrats to waive over 30 of his holds on State and Treasury nominees in return for a January vote on sanctioning the corporations involved in the $11 billion natural gas pipeline.
"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 & are willing to stand up to Putin, we should vote overwhelmingly to sanction NordStream2."
Cruz has been influential in stalling Biden appointments, using the delays as political leverage after the president eased sanctions on the company producing Nord Stream 2 in May.