Texas first term Senator Ted Cruz announced on Monday that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination. He posted his intentions to run for president in 2016 via a Twitter post.
Cruz released a 30-second video which featured his voice over a series of footage of American landmarks and symbols, farm fields and city skylines. The Republican Texas Senator called for “a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make America great again.”
According to CNN,Ted Cruz will make his official declaration in Lynchburg, Virginia, at Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world.
“I’m ready to stand with you to lead the fight,” Cruz added on Twitter, as his campaign has just launched its website.
Cruz is the first major candidate to enter the 2016 White House race. He is expected to start his campaign right away, skipping the exploratory committee, a step which many candidates make before a campaign.
Other runners for the GOP nominations could announce their bid soon. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush;Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are rumored to on the list.
Ted Cruz, 44, is a favorite of the Tea Party movement. He has made headlines for his conservative position on immigration, and has criticized other Republicans for their more moderate views.
Cruz defied party leaders in December in order to force a vote against Obama’s executive actions on immigration. At the time, the strategy didn’t succeed, and some Republicans called Cruz out.
“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,” GOP strategist Kevin Madden told AP, adding that “lots of candidates will be throwing some sharp elbows.”
Even though some have questioned Cruz’s own citizenship in recent weeks, two former Justice Department lawyers said that the Canadian-born Texas senator is eligible to run for presidency.
The anti-Cruz front has challenged his citizenship situation because he was born in Canada. Cruz has since released his birth certificate which showed his mother was a U.S. citizen born in Delaware, a fact that complies to the requirements for presidential eligibility.
The 2016 election are more than one year and a half away, but it seems that several presidential contenders will soon enter the race. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, one of the leading potential Democratic candidates, is expected to announce her bid next month.
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