Republican Ted Cruz Announces Candidacy For President Of The United States

By Ava Morollo
Junior Managing Editor of Community News

On Monday, Republican Ted Cruz, a Senator from Texas, announced his candidacy for President of the United States.

Cruz announced his candidacy during his speech at Liberty College in Virginia, promising to “reignite the promise of America” and also to “get back to the principles that made this country great.”

Cruz’s political views are known to be conservative due to his stance on issues such as abortion and marriage equality, both of which he’s against. However, his ideas are gaining much support among the Republican party.

His views on such issues worry sophomore Aidan Bassett. “He’s a radical with ideas that make him both disreputable and unelectable,” Bassett said.

“He’s going to have to try very hard to convince non-conservative parties that he can truly fix America, but it’s possible” junior Grace Jung said.

Ted Cruz was born in Alberta, Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father. He is hoping to be the first Canadian-born U.S. President.

ABC News claims that, despite there being a law in the U.S. Constitution that states that the President must be a “natural born citizen” of the United States, Cruz’s potential presidency is within the legal bounds of the Constitution. The article cites his mother’s citizenship as well as his father’s residency in the United States as reasons why he can, in fact, be the next President of the United States.

According to CNN, Cruz harshly criticized the IRS during his announcement and promised to take it away if he becomes President. He also declared his disapproval of the Common Core education and Obamacare, which he also plans to repeal if he is elected. Support for these actions continues to gain strength.

Cruz may be the only person to announce his candidacy from either party so far, but because of his conservative views, he will have trouble winning over Democratic states and will face stiff competition from fellow republicans.

Junior Matthew Gubenko believes Cruz announcing his candidacy first will pay off in the upcoming election.

“I think that him being the first to declare for the race is a good step,” Gubenko said. “I wouldn’t necessarily vote for him, but I would vote republican.”

“Cruz does a good job sticking to republican party lines.”

A CNN/ ORC Survey conducted this month states that Cruz has 4% support among republicans, while other republicans such as Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have much higher support ratings.

However, as Cruz maintained, “The power of the American people as we stand up and fight for liberty knows no bounds.”