Will Ted Cruz run for re-election in 2018?

[ElectionsGuy]

I think he will, and he'll run for president again some day, whether it be 2020 or 2024.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Is this even a question?

[Heisenberg]

I'm sure he will, but I hope he doesn't.  I hope a less extreme Republican takes him down in the primary, but I don't think that will happen.

[Maxwell]

Is this even a question?

yes, he may take Jim DeMint's job at the Heritage foundation.

[publicunofficial]

I think Ted Cruz was always planning on using the Senate as just a stepping stone for the Presidency. He has no interest in the Senate beyond that. My gut says he doesn't run.

[ElectionsGuy]

Is this even a question?

What? Do you have some special insider knowledge that I don't? I think there's legitimate doubts.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Is this even a question?

What? Do you have some special insider knowledge that I don't? I think there's legitimate doubts.

I don't have any insider knowledge.  I had just never considered the possibility of him not running for reelection.

[Mr. Morden]

Since Clinton will presumably win in November, 2020 will be another open nomination fight for the presidency on the GOP side.  In that case, Cruz is all but a lock to run for president again.  However, because Texas is such a Republican state and Cruz is reasonably popular with Texas Republicans, I assume he'd have no problem running for reelection in 2018, and then running for prez in 2020.

[The Other Castro]

Since Clinton will presumably win in November, 2020 will be another open nomination fight for the presidency on the GOP side.  In that case, Cruz is all but a lock to run for president again.  However, because Texas is such a Republican state and Cruz is reasonably popular with Texas Republicans, I assume he'd have no problem running for reelection in 2018, and then running for prez in 2020.

He and Rand Paul will probably rejoin for the 2016 redux in 2020, along with some newcomers like Cotton, Gardner, Amash, etc...

[smoltchanov]

Texas is still Republican enough for him having few problems in reelection bid. So - yes. It's about 2020 that i have serious doubts....

[Vosem]

Voted "yes", but I don't think it's as much of a done deal as others here suggest. I doubt he would lose any support for being an ex-Senator as opposed to an incumbent, and it can't be pleasant working in a place where everyone comically hates you. Texas Republicans still like him, and if he doesn't win 2020/2024 he'd probably be the gubernatorial frontrunner in a post-Abbott world.

That said, keeping his grip on his Senate seat is the path of least resistance to staying relevant in the political conversation for the rest of his life, and I doubt he would even be challenged seriously, from within or without the party. So the default assumption is he keeps his seat, I think.

[publicunofficial]

Voted "yes", but I don't think it's as much of a done deal as others here suggest. I doubt he would lose any support for being an ex-Senator as opposed to an incumbent, and it can't be pleasant working in a place where everyone comically hates you. Texas Republicans still like him, and if he doesn't win 2020/2024 he'd probably be the gubernatorial frontrunner in a post-Abbott world.

That said, keeping his grip on his Senate seat is the path of least resistance to staying relevant in the political conversation for the rest of his life, and I doubt he would even be challenged seriously, from within or without the party. So the default assumption is he keeps his seat, I think.

Exactly my reasoning. "Former Sen. and 2016 runner up Ted Cruz" has the same amount of appeal as "Sen. Ted Cruz". And if he leaves office in 2019, it's not like the populace would have forgotten about him when he starts his campaign up again in a few months.

[The Mikado]

Voted "yes", but I don't think it's as much of a done deal as others here suggest. I doubt he would lose any support for being an ex-Senator as opposed to an incumbent, and it can't be pleasant working in a place where everyone comically hates you. Texas Republicans still like him, and if he doesn't win 2020/2024 he'd probably be the gubernatorial frontrunner in a post-Abbott world.

That said, keeping his grip on his Senate seat is the path of least resistance to staying relevant in the political conversation for the rest of his life, and I doubt he would even be challenged seriously, from within or without the party. So the default assumption is he keeps his seat, I think.

It is the path of least resistance, but Ted Cruz A. has never been a team player and is something of a chronic backstabber, and B. does not like being in the Senate.

I could just about imagine him primarying Abbott in 2018 and making everyone in the TX GOP fume about it. Those people hate him and he hates them.