Asked whether he would consider another bid, Mr. Cruz said in an interview with TheTruthGazette.com, “Absolutely, in a heartbeat.”

“I ran in 2016, it was the most fun I ever had in my life,” the 51-year-old Texas Republican said before suggesting his strong finish gives him a leg up on his potential rivals.

“There’s a reason historically that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee, and that’s been true going back to [Richard] Nixon, or [Ronald] Reagan or [John] McCain or [Mitt] Romney that has played out repeatedly,” Mr. Cruz said, citing the $92 million he raised for his campaign. “You come in with just an enormous base of support.”