Former Bush aide considering independent run against Cruz: report

Matthew Dowd, a former strategist to President George W. Bush, is considering mounting an independent run against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), according to the The Texas Tribune.

Dowd, who is an ABC News analyst, said that he’s been encouraged by high-profile Democrats and Republicans to challenge the former GOP presidential candidate in 2018. 

“I don’t know what I will do,” Dowd told the Tribune on Thursday. “But I am giving it some thought, and I appreciate the interest of folks.”

Cruz, who dropped out of the Republican presidential primary in May 2016, sparked the ire of many Republicans after declining to endorse Donald Trump for president at the Republican National Convention, then holding off on his endorsement for a few more months after that.

{mosads}Dowd, an outspoken critic of the two-party system, says he wouldn’t caucus with either party if elected.

So far, there are no declared contenders against Cruz. Still, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has publicly weighed challenging Cruz in the Republican primary, while Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) has said he’s considering a run for the Democratic nomination.

Once a Democrat, Dowd started his career working for former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock.

He switched over to the Republican Party and worked for the Republican National Committee (RNC) during the 2002 election and both of Bush’s presidential campaigns.

While working on Bush’s campaigns, Dowd coincided with Cruz, who also served on the campaign helping as a domestic policy adviser and later assisting with Bush’s legal team during the 2000 presidential recount in Florida.

Dowd believes running as an independent could help his chances as opposed to running in one of the major parties. If he decided to run and won, he said he wouldn’t caucus with either party. “I think the system is broken,” he told the Tribune.

But Dowd indicated that he’s in no hurry to make a decision.

“It’s not an immediate thing,” Dowd said. “At some point, I have to obviously decide because this was a major adjustment in my life.”