Ted Cruz, the Republican junior senator from Texas, threw his name into the hat for the 2016 race for the White House. Cruz is the first high-profile member of the GOP party to make such an announcement and has the attention of supporters by way of his various stances.
Cruz tweeted at 12:09 a.m. Monday morning (Mar. 23) the words “I’m running for president and I hope to earn your support!” along with a 30-second promotional video. The slickly produced clip shows Cruz looking very much like a leader, but time will tell if he’ll face anyone else of prominence from the GOP side to secure his party’s nomination.
Hip-Hop Wired has listed out what you need to know about presidential candidate Ted Cruz on the following pages.
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Photo: Public Domain
The Basic Stats
Sen. Cruz was born Rafael Edward Cruz on December 22, 1970.
O Canada
Cruz, whose father escaped from Cuba during the revolution, was born in Canada to an American mother.
H-Town Is Where He’s From
Cruz was raised in Houston and considers it his hometown.
Quite The Scholar
Cruz obtained his undergrad degree in Public Policy from Princeton in 1992. He entered Harvard Law School and earned his Juris Doctor degree and graduated magna cum laude in 1995.
Linked To George W. Bush
In 1999, Cruz served as an advisor to then-Governer Bush while in Texas. When Bush was elected, Cruz served in several capacities for the former president.
Worked The Tea Party Angle To Get Elected
Cruz won his senatorial seat without having any prior experience in elected office. What Cruz did was fire up the conservative Tea Party base which had begun to surge in 2010 and 2012.
Strong Debate Game
Cruz was debate champion while at Princeton, and some of that skill has been displayed in many of the senator’s public appearances of late. Some of the accolades Cruz has won include the U.S. National Debating Championship, the North American Debating Championship speaker of the year and team of the year
Cruz Made Supreme Court History
In 1996, Cruz served as a law clerk to former Chief Justice William Rehnquist. In 2003, he was made the solicitor general of Texas and was the youngest person in the nation to gain that position. As solicitor general, Cruz argued several cases before the Supreme Court such as upholding Texas’ death penalty and the controversial congressional redistricting map.
Cruz Can Be Tough On His Opponents And Colleagues
Cruz took office in the U.S. Senate in 2012. One of his most bizarre and confrontational moments took place when he took over the Senate floor for 21 hours in opposition to President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Cruz egged on a government shutdown in favor of repealing Obamacare. Cruz has also challenged members of his own party in both the House and Senate for a variety of issues and even took aim at GOP stars like Chris Christie and others.
Making Bold Promises
Cruz has said in the past that he plans to repeal Obamacare, abolish the IRS and other extreme pro-conservative measures if he were elected president.
