Senator Ted Cruz, on Monday became the first Republican to announce his campaign for the presidency of the United States (US).
“I’m running for President and I hope to earn your support!” Cruz said in his tweet, which kickstarts a crowded Republican field that until now has been going through preliminary motions only.
The Texas senator, who burst into the national limelight with his opposition to Obamacare and his willingness to shut down the federal government, presents a direct challenge to the expected bids of establishment Republicans such as Jeb Bush.
As part of the carefully coordinated media rollout, Cruz announced his candidacy in a 30-second video message posted on Twitter shortly after midnight Monday morning, roughly 24 hours after the Houston Chronicle reported the announcement.
Cruz amplified his late-night tweet with a speech Monday at Virginia’s Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world, opening with spotlighting biographical stories of Cruz’s parents and his wife Heidi.
Ten thousand students from Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world are crowding into the university’s main arena for Cruz’s announcement. The venue choice at this socially conservative campus aims to give Cruz an early boost among evangelical voters, who will be key to boosting presidential hopefuls in early states like Iowa and South Carolina. It’s a youthful crowd as students are required to attend the University’s weekly convocation address.
Not all in the audience were guaranteed Cruz supporters: A noticeable number of participants were wearing red “Stand with Rand” shirts, repping Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who’s also considering a presidential bid.
Cruz’s speech focused on the future, laying out his vision for his campaign and the future of the country, and repeatedly asking his audience to “imagine” a Cruz presidency.
While Cruz has spent chunks of his time in the Senate clashing with establishment Republicans, the aides said Monday that Cruz won’t spend any time bashing establishment figures.
