Ted Cruz announces 2016 presidential bid

CNN ^ | March 23, 2015 | Ashley Killough and Jeremy Diamond

[SoConPubbie]

(CNN)Ted Cruz is first out the gate.

The first-term senator from Texas announced early Monday he is running for president.

Cruz announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in a 30-second video message in a tweet shortly after midnight Monday. Later in the day, he will appear at Virginia's Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world, where he will make his in-person declaration.

"I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!" Cruz said in his tweet.

Cruz, 44, will be the first candidate to formally throw his hat in the ring for what's expected to be a crowded GOP primary, with more than a dozen high-profile Republicans expressing serious interest in a White House run.

"It's a time for truth, a time to rise to the challenge just as Americans have always done," Cruz says over clips of American landscapes and people. "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 Houston Chronicle first reported that Cruz would declare his candidacy on Monday, skipping the step of forming an exploratory committee, according to advisers with direct knowledge of his plans.

Cruz, armed with his trademark ostrich boots and impressive oratory skills, has quickly made a name for himself in the past two years since he started in the Senate, solidifying his brand as a conservative firebrand willing to take on establishment Republicans in Washington.

A constant and vocal critic of the Obama administration, he's perhaps best known for his stalwart fight against Obamacare in 2013, which led to a tense standoff between Democrats

[SoConPubbie]

You’ve been added to the Ted Cruz Ping List!

[SoConPubbie]

You’ve been added to the Ted Cruz Ping List!