Ted Cruz is once again at the mercy of Donald Trump as he faces re-election: columnist
It has been almost one week since Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform and issued an ominous warning to Sen. Ted Cruz with little explanation and one columnist thinks the Texas Republican may have a "Trump problem" that could hurt Cruz's bid for re-election.
Last Sunday Trump wrote of Cruz and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO): "So interesting that the Democrats are looking hard at the Senate races in both Missouri and Texas. Josh and Ted must be very careful. Stranger things have happened."
According to Wichita Eagle columnist Ryan J. Rusak, Cruz has yet to respond to the former president's curious comments and that could mean there is trouble behind the scenes.
Of note, Rusak wrote, is that Cruz has yet to endorse Trump's latest bid to be president again , withe the columnist adding that the former president caused problems for Cruz's re-election last cycle simply by being on the ballot.
According to the Rusak, Cruz is facing dual threats from Trump this time as they both look forward to the 2024 election.
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"He [Cruz] has said he won’t endorse in the presidential primary, in part because of the potential effect on his own campaign. How long will Trump accept that?" Rusak wrote before adding, "Trump presents a complication. If he feels shafted, he could push enough Republicans to sit out the Senate race to complicate Cruz’s bid. But getting too close to Trump could alienate swing voters that Cruz will need. Having Trump at the top of the ballot will juice turnout among Democrats, as Cruz well knows — backlash to Trump was why Cruz had to sweat his 2018 race."
According to the columnist, what the Texas senator is going through right now should be a warning to all GOP lawmakers facing re-election with Donald Trump in the wings.
"But if Trump comes after Cruz, it’s a sign of what Republicans are going to get for the next four years if their man is elected: petty threats out of nowhere, a willingness to sink important allies for not sufficiently bending the knee, and a constant need to calibrate to Trump’s ego," he suggested.
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