Cruz breaks with Trump, backs rivals in Georgia and South Carolina

Ted Cruz is making a rare public break with Donald Trump in two closely watched Southern runoffs, betting that a little independence from the Republican Party’s dominant figure can still pay off in a post-Trump future. In Georgia and South Carolina, the Texas senator has lined up behind candidates running against Trump-endorsed rivals, turning both contests into a test of whether any Republican can build a power base apart from Trump and still remain viable for 2028.

In Georgia, Cruz backed businessman Rick Jackson in the June 16 GOP runoff against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who entered the race with Trump’s support. Jones led the May 19 primary with 38.4% of the vote, while Jackson finished second with 32.5%, sending both men into the runoff because neither cleared a majority. Jackson has been described as a wealthy health care executive who was raised in foster care, and Cruz cast him as a fighter for freedom, opportunity and limited government. That endorsement matters because Georgia has become one of the clearest laboratories for Trump’s influence inside the party, especially after Jones emerged as the front-runner with the former president behind him.

Cruz made a similar move in South Carolina, backing Attorney General Alan Wilson in the June 23 runoff against Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who has Trump’s endorsement. Cruz called Wilson a proven conservative fighter who has spent years defending the Constitution and standing up to left-wing policies. South Carolina’s governor’s race also was pushed to a runoff after no candidate won outright, giving Cruz another opening to align himself with a contender who is not carrying Trump’s banner.

The endorsements are being read as more than isolated primary maneuvering. They suggest Cruz is trying to show donors, activists and early-state voters that he can still shape the Republican field without simply mirroring Trump, a useful signal if he is laying groundwork for a presidential run in 2028. South Carolina is especially important in that calculation because it remains a key early-state prize in the Republican calendar.

The risk is obvious. Trump has usually been highly effective as a kingmaker in Republican primaries, and a source close to the administration called Cruz’s move a “curious way” to advance a 2028 bid. If Jones and Evette win, Cruz could absorb backlash from Trump’s base. If Jackson or Wilson pulls off an upset, it would hint that Trump’s grip on the GOP is powerful, but not absolute, in every state fight.