A simmering rivalry between two Republican heavyweights eyeing the White House spilled into public view this week, with one making it personal.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called Vice President JD Vance "insecure" in a phone interview with Politico on Saturday, responding to Vance's claim days earlier that the Texas senator was already running for president.
"In my experience, people engage in political bomb-throwing when they're feeling insecure," Cruz said. "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."
The jab followed an NBC News interview Thursday in which Vance accused Cruz of jumping the gun on a 2028 bid while the party fights to hold Congress.
"It is really obvious to me that, at this very moment, Ted Cruz is running for president," Vance said. "At this moment, I'm not. I'm trying to help elect Republicans. That's what I'm going to keep on doing."
Vance is widely seen as the early favorite for the GOP nomination, but Cruz has openly questioned whether the vice president has it locked up and has floated a run of his own. "I'll certainly be part of the discussion," Cruz told MS NOW in August.
Cruz insisted to Politico that his attention is on keeping Republican majorities in the House and Senate, pointing to campaign stops this cycle in Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas. He said he plans to stump for candidates in Alaska, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina later this month.
"Over the last 10 years, there's no Republican in the country who has campaigned for more Senate candidates, more House candidates, more gubernatorial candidates than I have," he said. "And this year will be no exception."
A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to Cruz's remarks, per Politico. Vance campaigned in Texas and Florida this week and is set to hold a rally in Alaska on Monday.
