Former Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Thursday he “would love” to take on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) now that he lives in Texas.
“I would love to run against Ted Cruz,” Kinzinger told host Galen Druke on the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast.
According to the former congressman, who was one of 10 Republican members to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump, Cruz is “the most complete con artist in politics, like one of them, to be able to run against his face in public would be amazing.”
Despite Kinzinger’s interest in competing against Cruz, he said it wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.
“I would like to, but right now, I’m not in a position to,” he explained. “I’ve got a young kid. I’ve got to kind of come down from the last couple of years. But if there’s a moment that comes along and the timing is right, yeah, absolutely.”
When Druke asked if he would be ready to get into politics again and run in six years, Kinzinger said, “Potentially.”
The former Illinois congressman did not seek reelection in 2022, which would have been an uphill battle in his heavily Trump-voting district. In addition to his vote to impeach, Kinzinger served on the Jan. 6 committee, which investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and held public prime-time hearings with key witness testimony.
He is touring the media circuit to promote his new book, Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty In Our Divided Country.
Republican outcast Adam Kinzinger.
I voted for Biden in 2020, and I will do it again in 2024.pic.twitter.com/j2Z7dMNLZp
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 2, 2023