Early on Monday morning the 2016 Presidential election officially began, when Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced on Twitter that he would be making a run for the White House. Cruz also released a video announcing his campaign, and called for a new generation of courageous conservatives to improve America. Cruz’s announcement did not come as a surprise to voters. Major news networks broke the story of Cruz’s candidacy over the weekend, after sources close to the Senator confirmed that Cruz would be making his announcement on Monday. Since his election to the Senate in 2012, political commentators have frequently mentioned Cruz as a potential 2016 candidate. Since 2013, Cruz has also appeared at numerous events in key states with early presidential primaries, such as Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. A darling of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, Cruz is known for his conservative social view on issues like abortion and gay marriage, as well as his harsh criticism of the Obama administration’s healthcare and economic policies.
Cruz made an appearance at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia on Monday morning to formally announce his campaign. In his speech at the university, Cruz highlighted his faith as well as his Cuban background. In recent years, the Republican Party has struggled to gain the support of Latino-Americans, the nation’s fastest growing demographic group, because of its opposition to comprehensive immigration reform. Many Republican operatives are advocating for a Hispanic candidate in 2016 in order to capture this key-voting bloc. Cruz, as well as Senator Marco Rubio and former Governor Jeb Bush, whose wife emigrated from Mexico, are all vying to be the Republican candidate that can appeal to Latino voters.
However, Cruz’s own citizenship and immigration status has proved to be a popular topic since the launch of the Senator’s campaign. Senator Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada to his American mother and Cuban father. The citizenship of his mother assured that Cruz was a natural-born U.S. citizen, which is a requirement for any Presidential candidate, and if elected Cruz would be not only the first Hispanic president, but also the first Canadian-born president.
With close to 18 months until Americans head to the polls to elect their next president, Cruz’s announcement may seem over eager to some, however it is not uncharacteristic of past Presidential campaigns. In January of 2007, almost two years before the 2008 Presidential Election, then-Senator Hillary Clinton announced her White House bid. Now former-Secretary Clinton is rumored to be considering another run for the Presidency, and most political pundits predict that Clinton will formally launch her 2016 campaign within the next month. By having an early start, Cruz and other candidates have more time to build name recognition, craft their campaign image and platform, and gain the financial backing of campaign donors. With the increasing role that money is playing in American politics, ensuring that candidates have enough time to raise millions of dollars to finance their campaigns will be key to the success of any campaign. Although it may seem like America is still recovering from the midterm elections of 2014, the excitement of the 2016 Presidential contest has only just begun.