Senator Ted Cruz on Monday teased a potential presidential run in 2028.
During an interview with MS Now, the Texas Republican was asked if the GOP has already “coalesced” behind Vice President JD Vance.
“Oh, no,” Cruz replied. “There’s gonna be a full discussion about who we are, and what we believe.”
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Asked if he would be part of that, Cruz said he would “certainly be part of the discussion.”
Cruz put the future leadership fight into a broader ideological context.
“Economically, I think we should be a conservative party, and on foreign policy, we’ve got a debate: Are we an isolationist party that withdraws from the world, or do we believe in American leadership?” he said.
In a separate interview on Monday, Cruz played off a question about a potential presidential run and told the CBS News correspondent Major Garrett: “We’ll have this conversation another time.”
With this year’s midterm elections 10 weeks away, speculation about who the presidential nominees for the Democrat and Republican parties will be for 2028 is under way, and Vance has consistently been the favorite on prediction markets on the GOP side.
Newsweek has contacted Cruz’s office via email for comment.
Ted Cruz’s Previous Bid for President
Cruz ran for president in 2016. He launched his campaign on March 23, 2015, and emerged as one of Donald Trump’s chief rivals during the Republican nominating contest.
The senator won the Iowa caucuses, the first voting contest of the primary season, and went on to capture several other states, finishing second to Trump in state victories and delegates.
Cruz suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016, after he lost the Indiana primary to Trump, whose victory cleared the way for him to become the GOP nominee.
Cruz did not run for president in 2020 or 2024.
What Prediction Markets, Polls Show
Prediction markets indicate a strong likelihood that Cruz will announce a presidential run before 2028.
On Polymarket, odds sit at 80 percent that Cruz will launch a bid. On the GOP side, he is second only to Vance, for whom odds are at 89 percent.
As of noon ET Tuesday, the vice president’s odds at becoming the GOP nominee were 47.3 percent on Polymarket, followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 19.4 percent. Cruz’s chances were listed at 1 percent.
On Kalshi, Cruz’s odds to be the nominee were 1.2 percent. Vance’s were 44 percent, with Rubio in second place at 23 percent.
Real Clear Polling’s average paints a similar picture.
Based on polls taken July 3-August 17, Cruz’s support to become the nominee are 3.1 percent, well behind Vance’s 40.4 percent and Rubio’s 22.6 percent.
How Prediction Markets Work
On prediction markets, users buy and sell contracts that are tied to future events. Prices reflect collective assessments of likelihood.
Increasingly, political prediction markets have become a closely watched barometer of sentiment.
This is because they update in real time and because, unlike traditional polls, where voters are surveyed, markets like Kalshi and Polymarket show where participants are willing to place their money on future outcomes.
Analysts, though, have cautioned against treating prediction markets like forecasts.
Prices can shift rapidly and can be influenced by media attention, speculation or emerging narratives.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Dave Siminoff.