Ted Cruz

Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008.

After graduating from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Cruz pursued a career in politics, later working as a policy advisor in the George W. Bush administration. In 2003, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appointed Cruz to serve as Solicitor General, a position he held through 2008. In 2012, Cruz was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first Hispanic-American to serve as a U.S. senator from Texas. In the Senate, he has taken consistently conservative positions on economic and social policy. He played a leading role in the 2013 United States federal government shutdown, seeking to force Congress and President Barack Obama to defund the Affordable Care Act. He was reelected in a surprisingly close Senate race in 2018 against Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke.

Cruz was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2016, emerging as a serious contender against front-runner Donald Trump. Their competition was heated and characterized by a series of public personal attacks. Cruz initially refused to endorse Trump after he won the nomination, but became a strong supporter during his presidency. During the 2021 Electoral College vote count, Cruz objected to the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Cruz is running for reelection to the Senate in 2024 against Democratic nominee Colin Allred and other third-party candidates. Provided by Wikipedia