Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced on Monday that he would run for re-election as a United States senator for Texas but would not be making a 2024 presidential run.
Cruz made this announcement to his supporters during a call, and his office confirmed the decision on Tuesday, according to CBS News.
“I’m on the ballot in 2024,” Cruz said, per the Houston Chronicle. “I’m running for re-election.”
Cruz reportedly said Monday he was hoping to retain his senatorial seat in order to “keep Texas red,” according to the Houston Chronicle.
The Texas senator had previously told Face the Nation that there is “a reason I’m in Texas today. I’m not in Iowa, I’m in Texas, and I’m fighting for 30 million Texans,” according to CBS News.
Those comments were made in response to questions about a 2024 presidential run.
Cruz won a relatively narrow victory over Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018 — beating him by less than three percentage points — while the Democratic party gained two U.S. Congressional seats from Texas and 12 seats in the Texas House, reducing the margin of the Republican majority in the latter body from 40 to just 16.
O’Rourke had raised more than $80 million for his campaign, which contributed to one of the most expensive senatorial races of all time in Texas and the United States.
Those gains by Democrats were short-lived, however. Following the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans now hold a 22-seat edge in the Texas House, and Gov. Greg Abbott beat O’Rourke by 10 percentage points in November’s race for governor.
Cruz is not the only Republican who has announced a decision not to run again for the presidency in 2024.
Rick Scott (R-FL) has also announced he will not be running in 2024, as have Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Josh Hawley (R-MO).
Former President Donald Trump announced his latest bid for the presidency in November. Nikki Haley, former UN ambassador and governor of South Carolina, made her announcement on Tuesday, as The Dallas Express reported.