Ted Cruz is a senator from Texas. He won his senate seat in 2012 by beating the favored Republican candidate.

He was the first of the major party candidates to announce his run for the White House. He did so at Virginia’s Liberty University, a conservative Christian university.

He is strongly conservative on the issues. Mr. Cruz appeals to voters for his outspoken ideas and his willingness to go against his own party. But going against his party can also hurt him because he might not get the support of mainstreamRepublicans.

Mr. Cruz says two of his main goals are to end President Obama’s national health care plan and to close the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS is responsible for taxing Americans based on their incomes and many other considerations. Mr. Cruz supports taxing all Americans the same rate.

He announced his candidacy on March 23, 2015.