Ted Cruz says 2024 Senate re-election will be ‘firefight’ as Democrats come at him with ‘everything they have’

Palm Beach, Fla. – Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas predicts he is “going to face a very tough race” as he seeks re-election next year.

Cruz made his comments Friday as he addressed dozens of top Republican contributors gathered at a donor retreat organized by the politically influential, fiscally conservative group Club for Growth.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sunu, who are seriously considering bids for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, also gathered at an exclusive beachfront resort in this upper crust seaside community. Talked to donors.

“Some people say money doesn’t matter in politics. In fact, they never ran,” Cruz said to laughter from the crowd as he headed toward his then-hard-fought, razor-thin Senate reelection victory. Pointed-out Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke. “We were outmatched and outshot three to one.”

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Cruz, in his speech and in an upcoming interview with Fox News Digital, argued that “after [former President] “There’s no Republican in the country whom Democrats hate more than me,” Donald Trump said, “That’s something I wear as a badge of honor. There’s no Republican they’d like to defeat more than me.”

And pointing to his 2024 re-election campaign, he predicted that “it’s going to be, I believe, a $100 million race… I guarantee you there are a dozen Democrat gazillionaires who are behind in 2018.” are watching and saying ‘We’re two points away from beating that SOB. And next time I’m writing another million dollar check.'”

Speaking to the donors, he said, “That’s why I’m talking to you… I need your help once again… They’re going to bring us everything.”

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While no major Texas Democrat has yet jumped into the Senate race, the senator predicted that “they’re going to run a serious candidate, but to discourage the more serious, a money in the bank It will be beneficial to herd quickly. Prevents rivals from coming in. This is a race where early money has the potential to save the need to spend a ton of money later in the cycle.”

Cruz warned that if Democrats “turn Texas blue, the country will lose. You can’t win the presidency with a blue Texas… A blue Texas means Democrats and socialists control the country in lockstep.” are. We can’t let that happen.”

And he predicted “it’s going to be a firefight but we’re going to win.”

Cruz was the runner-up to Trump in a wide open and heated race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. But this time he stayed away from the race for the White House as he is running for a third term in the Senate.

Asked if he would favor and endorse a candidate in the GOP presidential primaries, Cruz told Fox News, “He’ll have plenty of time to do that. I doubt we’ll have a lot of other people in the running.” There will be and I’m sure it will be wild and woolly. I suspect they will be some insults, some nicknames.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a donor conference hosted by the conservative group Club for Growth, March 3, 2023, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Fox News)

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is seriously considering a run for the White House, also addressed donors on Friday.

“Republicans and conservatives cannot abandon our commitment to fiscal responsibility and reform, including commonsense reforms to Social Security and Medicare,” Pence stressed to the crowd.

Pointing to the country’s exploding national debt and the recent birth of two granddaughters, the former vice president asserted that “I can’t go on with the debt crisis our country faces, and neither can you.”

And he warned that “if we hit the road… if we wait 25 years to deal with this issue, until this mountain of debt becomes a mountain of debt, all our choices will be ruined. We can improve Social Security. Today in ways that don’t affect current retirees or anyone who will retire in the next 20 years.”

If Pence begins a White House campaign, as many pundits expect, he will join a field that already includes his one-time boss — Trump.

The former vice president touted the accomplishments of the Trump-Pence administration but reiterated that when it comes to his former running mate, “different times call for different leadership … I know that Republicans across the country Voters are going to elect the right leader at the right time and we are going to win the day in 2024.”

New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sunu speaks at a donor conference hosted by the conservative group Club for Growth on March 3, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Fox News)

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who has become a vocal Trump critic in recent years, called the former president “the orange-haired elephant in the room.”

He noted that “I supported Trump in ’16, I supported him in ’20. I think he’s done some great things. But thank you very much, we’re moving forward. Unfortunately, There’s a lot of independents who were with us. And just stepped aside and said, ‘If that’s your flag bearer, I’m not going there.’. I think most people agree, if you’re in ’24. If we want to win, we have to move forward.”

Sunu argued that when it comes to the 2024 general elections, “there is no way for that. [Trump] to win.”

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New Hampshire’s popular GOP governor emphasized that Republicans “need to be inspirational in terms of our leadership. Let’s be ambitious. Let’s be the team people want to be on and that we’re going to come out with that kind of message.” leading.”

And he criticized the GOP, charging that “our message is sometimes so obviously bad, we end up with ourselves … we let the Democrats define us.”