{UAH} IN PERSONALISING AMERICAN POLITICS TO DONALD, MANY ACTUALLY FORGET THAT 2024 IS FIRKIN OPEN Gee'eeeZ

Ted Cruz, team player: Senator raising millions for Republicans as he eyes potential 2024 bid

by David M. Drucker, Senior Political Correspondent | 

 

July 08, 2020 12:00 AM

 

Sen. Ted Cruz is cultivating relationships for a possible 2024 presidential bid, with plans to raise more than $2.5 million for over two dozen Republican incumbents and challenger candidates running for Congress this November.

The Texas Republican this week is launching “20 for 20,” a fundraising committee that will funnel at least $100,000 each to 25 conservative House candidates — all personally vetted by Cruz. The senator is raising the money from a lucrative list of grassroots donors and network of wealthy contributors built over the course of his 2016 presidential campaign and is moving to supplement this financial backing with hands-on support from his political operation.

In the Senate, Cruz is preparing to sign email fundraising appeals and host a big Texas fundraiser, coronavirus permitting, for vulnerable GOP colleagues running for reelection in contests that hold the key to the majority. Already, the senator has donated to Republican senators through his political action committee and raised money online for Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Steve Daines of Montana, Cory Gardner of Colorado, and Dan Sullivan of Alaska.

“It's clear conservatives need the House, Senate, and the White House in order to get things done,” Cruz spokesman Sam Cooper said Tuesday. “That's why Sen. Cruz is launching the 20 for 20 victory program to ensure Republicans can win back the House and usher in a new class of conservative leaders into Washington.”

Cruz, 49, arrived on Capitol Hill in 2013 and immediately picked fights with Republican leaders and the party establishment as he sought to burnish his image as a brash political outsider in advance of a presidential bid.

In 2014, he pointedly declined to endorse Sen. Thad Cochran for reelection. The Mississippi Republican, who died last year, barely fended off tea party challenger Chris McDaniel in a Republican primary that year, with Cruz publicly calling for an investigation of the results of a runoff. The following summer, and by then a White House contender, Cruz called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky a liar on the Senate floor.

After losing his quest for the Republican nomination to Donald Trump and with his 2018 Senate reelection campaign on tap, Cruz adjusted his approach.

In particular, the senator came to appreciate the political benefits of operating with the support of allies and became more of a team player. As Cruz looks ahead to his future in Congress and ponders another White House bid, the “20 for 20” fund and his assistance to incumbent Republican senators is a key component of his strategy to build support for his legislative agenda — and political ambitions.

Some Republican insiders, scarred by Cruz during his first four years in the Senate, view his evolution as a cynical ploy. But others, including past critics, credit the senator for shifting and say he has become a constructive deal-maker. “He traded in his national platform for a head-down approach, prioritizing state constituent services over Senate Republican politics,” said a GOP strategist whose clients, in the past, had run-ins with the Texan.

Cruz christened his program “20 for 20” because he initially sought to raise money for 20 House candidates on the 2020 ballot — his contribution to helping the GOP reclaim the majority.

But after examining the field and interviewing prospective candidates, the senator upped his commitment to 25. His endorsement comes with campaign cash, testimonial videos, signed email fundraising appeals, appearances in advertising, in-district travel if health conditions allow, and strategic assistance from his political team.

Of the 25 House candidates Cruz is endorsing, six are running in upcoming Republican primaries, and two are incumbents: Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, among his closest friends in Congress and embroiled in a competitive race; and Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, who ultimately endorsed him for president in 2016 and is defending a suburban St. Louis district.

Randy Feenstra, another Cruz endorsee, defeated the senator’s one-time ally, Rep. Steve King, in the GOP primary in a northwestern Iowa congressional seat.

Overall, 10 of the 25 backed Cruz’s White House bid, loyalty that factored into his decision to invest. Meanwhile, nine of the candidates are military veterans, nine are running in seats Democrats flipped in 2018, two are black, and three are Hispanic.

EM         -> { Trump for 2020 }

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