Senator Ted Cruz said that if the Republicans nominate another moderate for President, they will lose the White House again.
“If we nominate another candidate in the mold of a Bob Dole or a John McCain or a Mitt Romney — and let me be clear, all three of those men, they’re good men, they’re honorable men, they’re decent men, they’re men of character, they’re war heroes — but what they did didn’t work,” Cruz said in an interview in his Senate office. “It did not succeed. And if we nominate another candidate in that same mold, the same voters who stayed home in 2008 and 2012 will stay home in 2016, and Hillary Clinton is the next president.”
It is viewed by many that this comment was directed at former Florida Governor Jeb Bush who announced yesterday that he is considering running for President. When asked how Jeb Bush would rate, Cruz said, “that’s going to be a decision for the primary voters to make.”
Cruz is seen as possibly launching a Presidential bid himself. Fresh off challenging Republican leadership on Capitol Hill, Cruz is seen by many conservative activists as a champion for the right. But, a newly released poll shows Mitt Romney being the favorite of Republican voters at the moment.
A few days ago, Romney supporters launched Ready For Romney super PAC to attempt to coax the former Massachusetts Governor into running for President a third time. This PAC is still in its early days. Like Ready For Hillary, its objective is to draft Romney into the 2016 primary.
If both decide to run, Romney and Bush could split the establishment of the Republican primary voters, potentially giving conservative voters more pull if they are united behind one candidate. As 2016 approaches, the Republican race for the White House might have a crowded field.
Who would you like to run for President?
H/T: Politico