Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is laying the groundwork for another presidential campaign, setting up what could become an explosive primary battle that would test whether Republicans embrace traditional hawkish policies or continue down a more populist path.
Cruz has been meeting with key allies and delivering pointed speeches that signal his interest in the 2028 race.
Last November, he sat down with Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization for America, at an office near Washington’s Union Station.
Klein warned Cruz about antisemitism infiltrating conservative circles and urged Republican leadership to confront the problem directly.
During that meeting, Cruz revealed he had received encouragement to launch another White House bid.
Klein said the Texas senator appeared to be taking the possibility seriously.
With President Donald Trump unable to seek reelection in 2028, Cruz has increasingly positioned himself as a champion of traditional Republican foreign policy principles.
The 55-year-old senator has taken direct aim at prominent conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, accusing him of promoting antisemitic narratives through his criticism of Israel.
Carlson has denied the accusation.
A potential Cruz campaign would immediately collide with Vice President JD Vance, who leads early polling and is widely considered the frontline contender for the Republican nomination.
The Washington Post reported that according to sources familiar with the matter, Cruz has privately warned Republican donors that Vance’s foreign policy positions lean too heavily toward isolationism.
Vance maintains close ties with Carlson and has emerged as one of the party’s leading voices questioning U.S. military intervention abroad.
The brewing tension between Cruz and Vance illustrates how dramatically the Republican Party has transformed during the Trump presidency.
Cruz entered the Senate in 2013 as a tea party insurgent who challenged party leadership at every turn.
Now he finds himself defending longstanding Republican positions on foreign policy, free market capitalism and national security against a younger generation of conservatives pushing alternative visions.
The day after his meeting with Klein, Cruz delivered a fiery speech to a group supporting Jewish conservatives in Las Vegas.
He called Carlson “a coward” and condemned what he described as the “poisonous lies” of antisemitism.
He praised Trump as a president who “loves the Jewish people.”
Cruz then posed a question to the audience about Republican leadership after Trump leaves office.
“When Trump is not in the White House, what then?” he asked.
Someone in the crowd shouted back his name. Cruz smiled and continued his remarks.
Trending Politics (TP) reported that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a close Carlson ally, addressed the coming primary fight bluntly.
“The Republicans will be fighting for their identity,” she said, adding that Cruz would likely face Vance. “All of us hate Ted Cruz,” Greene stated.
Cruz’s political career has been marked by constant adaptation.
After serving in the Bush administration, he became Texas solicitor general before riding the tea party wave to an upset Senate victory in 2012.
In Washington, he gained national attention for hardline battles over government spending and the Affordable Care Act, including his role in the 2013 government shutdown.
His 2016 presidential campaign ended when Trump overwhelmed him with a more populist message.
Cruz famously told Republican convention delegates to “vote your conscience” rather than endorsing Trump, earning lasting resentment from segments of the party base.
Over time, he rebuilt his standing and now chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, where he has negotiated bipartisan agreements on issues including aviation safety.
Cruz describes himself as a “noninterventionist hawk” and has consistently championed Israel throughout his political career.
He argues that abandoning Israel weakens American national security and emboldens terrorist organizations.
“Those who are anti-Israel quickly become anti-capitalist and anti-American,” Cruz said in a brief interview, according to TP.
“Tucker’s obsession is unhealthy and dangerous.”
