Ted Cruz announces White House bid

He announced early Monday from his Twitter account that he’ll be vying for the White House during next year’s election, in turn becoming the first prominent member of the Republican Party to officially declare their intent to run.

I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support! http://ift.tt/1C3E1uO

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 23, 2015

“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,” the solicitor general-turned-US senator says in a campaign video attached to the tweet.

At an event at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia later on Monday morning, Cruz spoke publicly about his plans to run for the first time.

Speaking at @LibertyU now. Watch LIVE: http://t.co/K4IKnbKIm2

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 23, 2015

Cruz, 44, was elected to the UN Senate in 2012 and has since become one of the Obama administration’s fiercest critics in Congress. Among the lawmaker’s targets during his short span on Capitol Hill have been the president’s hallmark health insurance legislation, the Affordable Care Act, and the administration’s efforts concerning illegal immigration.

Although Cruz is the first big name from the GOP to announce plans for the White House ahead of the 201 election, no major names from the Democratic Party have declared their intent as of yet. Nevertheless, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of the US State Dept., is widely presumed to be the likely Democratic nominee.

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During the annual Conservative Political Action Conference last month, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) placed first in a straw poll among potential 2016 Republican Party candidates, followed by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Sen. Cruz in the second and third spots, respectively.

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“If you want to win the nomination, you’re going to have to earn the nomination,” Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said at CPAC. “But when we have a nominee, we’ll have to come together stronger and more united than ever to defeat Hillary Clinton.”