GOP race for president heats up as Ted Cruz hits back at ‘insecure’ JD Vance over claims Texas senator is ‘really obviously’ gunning for top job

Ted Cruz branded JD Vance ‘insecure’ after the Vice President said it was ‘really obvious’ the Texas Senator is hoping to run for President. 

Cruz insisted that he is focused on the midterms after Vance made the comments in an NBC interview on Thursday.

‘In my experience, people engage in political bomb-throwing when they’re feeling insecure,’ Cruz told Politico.

‘So he’s welcome to make whatever comments he likes. I’m going to keep focusing on the midterms and helping us win on Election Day in the next 30 days.’

Vance made the comments after Cruz suggested earlier this year that the Republican Party is still weighing whether to back the Vice President as their nominee for President in 2028.  

Cruz also told Politico that Vance is the one who is distracted and worried as he insisted that in the past decade, no Republican has ‘campaigned for more’ candidates than he has, adding that ‘this year will be no exception.’

He named over a dozen candidates he has backed successfully during his time in the Senate, including Vance himself. 

‘Indeed, ironically, I spent a full day on the road with JD Vance, campaigning with him when he was running for Senate in Ohio [in 2022],’ Cruz said. 

‘I was very glad he won that race. I was very glad to help him.’  

The Daily Mail has reached out to Vice President Vance for comment. 

The feud between Cruz and Vance bubbled up again when reporters asked Vance Thursday about the upcoming midterms and whether the GOP’s election result will shape his decision to launch a presidential bid. 

‘Regardless of what happens over the next 35 days, there will be new information, new things you have to make a decision over,’ Vance responded. 

Vance, who has not announced an official bid, has remained opaque about his intentions, instead shrugging off the query with: ‘The American people make that decision.’

The VP then pivoted to bash his former Senate colleague Cruz . 

‘It is really obvious to me that, at this very moment, Ted Cruz is running for president,’ Vance told NBC News.

‘At this moment, I’m not. I’m trying to help elect Republicans. That’s what I’m going to keep on doing.’ 

 Cruz said in August that he and the Republican Party have not rallied around Vance as the 2028 GOP candidate and that the conversation is still open. 

‘Oh, no. There’s going to be a full discussion about who we are and what we believe,’ Cruz said. ‘I’ll certainly be part of the discussion.’

The Texan accused Vance of being an acolyte of Tucker Carlson, the podcaster and former Fox News host, according to Axios. 

Cruz and Carlson have clashed and traded insults, particularly over the Texan’s strong support of Israel.

Vance and Cruz were Senate colleagues long before Vance’s nomination to become Trump’s running mate. 

Cruz was Trump’s most formidable GOP challenger in the 2016 campaign, and he was the last to drop out after Trump received 45 percent of the Republican backing while the Texan received just 25 percent. 

While Cruz is not on the ballot this year – his term runs through 2030 – he has been campaigning in swing states, including Iowa and South Carolina, both early presidential primary states, to fundraise for the GOP ahead of this year’s elections. 

The Texas senator’s presidential ambitions are seen as a long shot. 

Vance currently has a 45 percent chance of becoming the GOP’s 2028 presidential nominee, according to the prediction market Kalshi. 

Cruz, meanwhile, has just a two percent chance.