Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz the first candidate for president campaign 2016
| Ted Cruz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| United States Senator from Texas |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 Serving with John Cornyn |
|
| Preceded by | Kay Bailey Hutchison |
| Solicitor General of Texas | |
| In office January 9, 2003 – May 12, 2008 |
|
| Governor | Rick Perry |
| Preceded by | Julie Parsley |
| Succeeded by | James Ho |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rafael Edward Cruz[1] December 22, 1970 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Heidi Suzanne Nelson |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Princeton University (A.B., 1992) Harvard Law School (J.D., 1995) |
| Religion | Southern Baptist[2] |
| Website | Senate website |
U.S.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex) speaks at the winter meeting of the free market
Club for Growth winter economic conference at the Breakers Hotel
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2015, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Joe Skipper)
Ted Cruz: Tea Party agitator aims for White House
Once reviled by fellow Republicans as a "wacko bird" for leading the US government to a 2013 shutdown, resurgent Senator Ted Cruz has turned his Constitution-above-all conservatism
WASHINGTON Texas
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has become the first major candidate for
president, kicking off what's expected to be a rush over the next few
weeks of more than a dozen White House hopefuls into the 2016 campaign.
Cruz
will formally launch his bid during a morning speech at Liberty
University in Lynchburg, Virginia, choosing to begin his campaign at the
Christian college founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell rather than his
home state of Texas or the early voting states of Iowa and New
Hampshire. It's a fitting setting for Cruz, a 44-year-old tea party
darling whose entry into the 2016 campaign drew cheers Sunday among
fellow conservatives.
Amy
Kremer, the former head of the Tea Party Express, said that the
Republican pool of candidates "will take a quantum leap forward" with
Cruz's announcement, adding that it "will excite the base in a way we
haven't seen in years."
Elected
for the first time just three years ago, when he defeated an
establishment figure in Texas politics with decades of experience in
office, Cruz has hinted openly for more than a year that he wants to
move down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Senate and into the White House.
In an online video promoted on his Twitter account, Cruz offered a preview of his campaign's message.
"It's
a time for truth, a time to rise to the challenge, just as Americans
have always done. I believe in America and her people, and I believe we
can stand up and restore our promise," Cruz said as images of farm
fields, city skylines and American landmarks and symbols played in the
background. "It's going to take a new generation of courageous
conservatives to help make America great again, and I'm ready to stand
with you to lead the fight."
While
Cruz is the first Republican to declare his candidacy, he is all but
certain to be followed by several big names in the GOP, including former
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and two Senate
colleagues, Kentucky's Rand Paul and Florida's Marco Rubio.
The
Houston Chronicle first reported details about Cruz's campaign launch.
His move puts him into pole position among those whose strategy to win
the nomination counts on courting the party's most conservative voters,
who hold an outsized influence in the Republican nominating process.
"Cruz
is going to make it tough for all of the candidates who are fighting to
emerge as the champion of the anti-establishment wing of the party,"
said GOP strategist Kevin Madden. "That is starting to look like quite a
scrum where lots of candidates will be throwing some sharp elbows."
Following
his election to the Senate in 2012, the former Texas solicitor general
quickly established himself as an uncompromising conservative willing to
take on Democrats and Republicans alike. He won praise from tea party
activists in 2013 for leading the GOP's push to partially shut the
federal government during an unsuccessful bid to block money for
President Barack Obama's health care law.
In
December, Cruz defied party leaders to force a vote on opposing Obama's
executive actions on immigration. The strategy failed, and led several
of his Republican colleagues to call Cruz out. "You should have an end
goal in sight if you're going to do these types of things and I don't
see an end goal other than irritating a lot of people," said Utah
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch.
Such admonitions mean little to Cruz,
who wins over crowds of like-minded conservative voters with his
broadsides against Obama, Congress and the federal government. One of
the nation's top college debaters while a student at Princeton
University, Cruz continues to be a leading voice for the health law's
repeal, and promises to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and scrap
the Department of Education if elected president.Last weekend in New Hampshire, one voter gave Cruz a blank check and told him to write it for whatever amount he needed.
"He's awfully good at making promises that he knows the GOP can't keep and pushing for unachievable goals, but he seems very popular with right wing," said veteran Republican strategist John Feehery. "Cruz is a lot smarter than the typical darling of the right, and that makes him more dangerous to guys like Scott Walker and Rand Paul."
The
son of an American mother and Cuban-born father, Cruz would be the
nation's first Hispanic president. While in New Hampshire this month,
Cruz told voters his daughter, Caroline, had given him permission to
join the presidential race in the hopes that the family puppy would get
to play on the White House lawn instead of near their Houston high-rise
condo.
"If you win, that means Snowflake will finally get a backyard to pee in," Cruz said his daughter told him.
To
get there, Cruz knows he needs to reach out beyond his base. He is set
to release a book this summer that he said would reflect themes of his
White House campaign, and said in a recent Associated Press interview he
will use it to counter the "caricatures" of the right as "stupid,"
''evil" or "crazy."
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