March 23, 2015

Ted Cruz Is Running for President. Here’s What You Need to Know About Him.

His flip-flops, his formative years, and his firebrand father.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) running for office in 2012. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/7004276898/in/photolist-bEWKuN-bEWGgy-fmjJnc-ryoZz5-av6uvr-e4m9QZ-qBswDA-qJCWSH-fmjVmR-e4rMFU-e4m9nD-e4rNaC-e4mbDK-9DR8Et-e4rKnC-e4m8Zg-e4mcJV-fmzxcC-e4mbHt-fmze2A-fmjY2K-pSnsXt-fmkDGX-bEWMQo-fmz2Wy-rKnwoR-qBFXhM-e4mb9R-gb3cqB-qwjNHq-e4maS2-fmzhoo-pSBdg6-dRij4c-dcmQno-e4jouk-e4jooc-e4mby4-e4rNz7-av6uhT-av9b59-av9aPL-av9b1u-e4joaP-e4joh2-e4pZM5-e4pZES-e4pZcy-e4rKYd-e4maox">Gage Skidmore</a>/Flickr

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) officially launched his presidential campaign today, making him the first contender in either party to officially enter the race. At midnight Monday morning, Cruz tweeted, “I’m running for President and I hope to earn your support!” He made a more formal announcement later in the morning at Liberty University in Virginia, the Christian university founded by Jerry Falwell—where he drew loud applause when he told the crowd about his father finding Jesus Christ. His speech was, not surprisingly, designed for social conservatives: He blasted gay marriage, gun safety laws, and Common Core education standards. And he bemoaned the fact that half of born-again Christians do not vote. “Imagine millions of people of faith coming out to the polls and voting our values,” he declared.

So far, the young 2016 GOP contest has been dominated by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Thanks to his early announcement, the spotlight will be on Cruz. Here’s the best of Mother Jones‘ coverage on the combative Texas senator:

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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