Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is quietly but unmistakably preparing for a 2028 presidential run — a move that could put him on a direct collision course with Vice President JD Vance in the next Republican primary. According to reporting from Axios’s Alex Isenstadt, Cruz has been meeting with donors, stepping up his presence on the national speaking circuit, and engaging deeply in Republican efforts ahead of next year’s midterm elections, all part of a broader effort to position himself for another bid for the White House.

A key part of Cruz’s early strategy, Isenstadt notes, involves leaning into his ongoing feud with Tucker Carlson, a prominent conservative voice and close ally of Vance. From the Axios story: “Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential bid by leaning into his feud with Tucker Carlson — and staking out turf as a traditional, pro-interventionist Republican.” The report states that by challenging Carlson’s isolationist foreign-policy views and calling out what he sees as dangerous rhetoric, Cruz is deliberately drawing a contrast with Vance, who many observers — including President Trump — view as one of the early frontrunners for the 2028 GOP nomination. In recent comments, Trump has suggested that both Vance and Senator Marco Rubio are likely to be central contenders in the next Republican race, underscoring how competitive the field may quickly become.

Axios quotes Cruz as saying: “We have a responsibility to speak out even when it’s uncomfortable. When voices in our own movement push dangerous and misguided ideas, we can’t look the other way. I won’t hesitate to call out those who peddle destructive, vile rhetoric and threaten our principles and our future. Silence in the face of recklessness is not an option.”

The Texas senator has been explicit about his concern over what he calls a “growing cancer” of anti-Semitism on the Right — an issue he argues is being fueled in part by isolationist arguments gaining traction among younger conservatives. In a speech last month, Cruz warned: “This poison of anti-Semitism on the right, it is spreading with young people. It is gaining traction. But I will tell you, there is a movement among Christians, particularly young Christians. The public polling numbers of support for Israel among young Christians is plummeting. And they’re being spread lies. They’re being spread lies, isolationist lies that we should withdraw from the world because nobody wants to hurt us. But they’re also being spread theological lies.”

Vance, for his part, has criticized extremist figures like Nick Fuentes but has said nothing publicly about Carlson, who reportedly advocated for Vance during the 2024 vice-presidential selection process. And at a Turning Point USA event last month, Vance appeared to entertain the underlying assumptions of a student’s comments suggesting that Jews support the “prosecution” of Christianity while asking a question about America’s relationship with Israel.

As both Cruz and Vance work to define themselves in a post-Trump Republican Party — one where debates over foreign policy, Israel, and America’s engagement with the world are increasingly central — the early contours of the 2028 primary are already taking shape.