Sen. Cruz Believes GOP's Recent Gains 'Foreshadow' 2022 Election, Open Prospects for 2024

Republicans are feeling increasingly confident after Glenn Youngkin's tight victory over former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, a state that Joe Biden carried by ten points just a year ago and where GOP candidates had not won statewide in a dozen years.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas expressed hopes of Republicans regaining control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. And for that mission, the senator believes this Tuesday's elections are "enormously consequential."

"I think the elections in Virginia, the elections in New Jersey, they’re foreshadowing what’s coming next year in 2022," Cruz said in an interview with Fox News.

2022 Watch: @tedcruz - at #RJCinVegas - tells @FoxNews
“I think the elections in Virginia, the elections in New Jersey, they’re foreshadowing what’s coming next year in 2022" #2022elections #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/6lqyu2LH7E

— Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) November 6, 2021

Cruz was speaking ahead of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas.

Moreover, this week Republicans also reclaimed the posts of Virginia's lieutenant governor and attorney general, as well as a majority in the House of Delegates. interestingly, in deep-blue New Jersey, GOP gubernatorial challenger Jack Ciattarelli came close to unseating Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy, and the Republican Party made gains in the state assembly.

"I endorsed Glenn. I campaigned with Glenn. I barnstormed all over the state of Virginia with Glenn. Spent two days doing rallies all over Virginia," Cruz added, per the outlet.

Cruz reportedly predicted that the election of 2022 "is going to be a wave election." The senator suggested "It’s going to be an election like 2010," in which due to the strong pro-Republican sentiment across the US fuelled by the Tea Party movement, the GOP decisively reclaimed the House and made major gains in the Senate.

Republicans need to gain just five seats in the 435-seat House to reclaim the majority they lost in the 2018 midterm elections. And the party needs only a one-seat net gain to reclaim the Senate majority it lost in January, when Democrats won both Senate runoff elections in Georgia.

Also extremely optimistic about the party's prospects in the 2022 elections is Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who also spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday.

"We’re going to take back the Senate, absolutely. What happened this week was historic," Scott said. "We’re going to do unbelievably in 2022 because we have the right message."

'24 WATCH @NRSC chair @SenRickScott -at #RJCinVegas -tells @FoxNews this weeks' #GOP election victories “absolutely” makes it easier to land top recruits such as @GovChrisSununu @dougducey @GovLarryHogan to run for the Senate next year. #2022elections #nhpolitics #azpol #mdpol pic.twitter.com/vMxzuG2Iul

— Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) November 6, 2021

When asked if this week's victories make it easier to persuade GOP governors Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Doug Ducey of Arizona, and Larry Hogan of Maryland to run for the Senate next year, Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said, "Absolutely."

"I’m hopeful that we’ll continue to see great people get into the race. I think governors do very well in Washington, DC," Scott, who was a two-term Florida governor, said.

Meanwhile, according to Fox News, Cruz told the attendees of the meeting to encourage Sununu to run for Senate.

"Every person here needs to come up to Chris and say ‘Governor is great, but you need to run for Senate.’ Because this man could single-handedly retire Chuck Schumer as majority leader of the Senate," Cruz noted.

The senator also speculated about the next presidential election, scheduled for 2024.

"When I ran in ’16, it was the most fun I’ve had in my life," he said. "History shows the runner-up in the Republican Party is almost always the next nominee. We’ll see what President Trump decides to do, but I am going to fight to pull this country back from the abyss because this country’s worth fighting for."

'24 WATCH @tedcruz -at #RJCinVegas -tells @FoxNews “History shows the runner up in the Republican Party is almost always the next nominee. We’ll see what President Trump decides to do but I am going to fight to pull this country back from the abyss" #2024election #FITN #iacaucus pic.twitter.com/73O9siPMnG

— Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) November 6, 2021

Cruz finished second to former President Donald Trump in the tumultuous 2016 Republican primary and caucus struggle, but when asked if he plans to run again, he responded emphatically, "Absolutely not."