- suspended campaign May 3, 2016 -   



timeline

C-SPAN

Legislation (Congress.gov)




OpenSecrets.org

LinkedIn page


organization

visits to 3rdQ '15
www.tedcruz.org
Cruz for President
tedcruzpage @tedcruz

...announced candidacy on Mar. 23, 2015  [FEC]
www.cruz.senate.gov
Sen. Ted Cruz
SenatorTedCruz  |  @SenTedCruz

TedCruz-old
www.jobsgrowth.org
Jobs, Growth and Freedom Fund
JobsGrowth  |  @jobsgrowth

...leadership PAC est. Nov. 2012 [FEC]

 
www.tedcruzforsenate.org
Ted Cruz for Senate
Ted Cruz Victory Committee
@TeamTedCruz

[FEC-Senate  |  FEC-Victory]



independent:







www.keepthepromise.com
Keep the Promise PAC

...super PACs filed w. FEC on April 6, 2015 (+)
www.keepthepromise1.com
Keep the Promise I
keepthepromiseI  |
@keeppromise1
www.reignitingthepromise.com 
Keep the Promise III
ReignitingThePromise
www.trustedleadership.org
Trusted Leadership PAC

...super PAC filed w. FEC on Feb. 19, 2016.





standforprinciple.com
Stand for Principle PAC

...super PAC filed w. FEC on Nov. 7, 2014
standfortruthpac.com
Stand for Truth PAC

99iowapastors.com
99 Iowa Pastors

...indep. effort led by Pastor Joseph Brown of Marion Avenue Baptist Church


www.runtedrun.com
Draft Ted Cruz for President
runtedrun  |  @RunTedRun


...super PAC filed w. FEC in Jan. 2014


Opposition
parody
@nottedcruz






Conventional Wisdom
Strengths
- Strong appeal to Tea Party conservatives and social conservatives.
- Legal acumen.
- Rhetorical outrage.
Weaknesses
- "Wacko bird" image and c
oncerns about electability.
- Seen as overly ambitious and attention-grabbing.

Notes, Coverage and Speeches

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photo of ted cruz at the iowa ag summit
Jan. 12, 2015 - Addressing Heritage Foundation Action's Conservative Policy Summit.
Jan. 24, 2015 - Iowa Freedom Summit.
March 7, 2015 - Iowa Ag Summit
May 8, 2014 - Rally for Religious Freedom outside U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. June 19, 2014 - Faith & Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority.
Sept. 26, 2014 - Values Voter Summit.
March 6, 2014 - At CPAC. March 25, 2014 - Outside the U.S. Supreme Court after oral arguments in Hobby Lobby.
April 30, 2014 - Senate Rules and Admin. Committee hearing on campaign finance.
March 16, 2013 - Introducing Sarah Palin at CPAC. Feb. 10, 2014 - Outlining the American Energy Renaissance Act at Heritage Action for America's Conservative Policy Summit. Feb. 27, 2014 - Fifth anniversary celebration of the Tea Party movement.

- Speech announcing suspension of campaign in Indianapolis, IN, May 3, 2016.
- Speech after winning the Wisconsin Primary in Milwaukee, WI, April 5, 2016.
- Announcement speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, March 23, 2015.
- Speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, IA, January 24, 2015.
- Speech at The FAMiLY Leadership Summit at Stephens Auditorium in Ames, IA, August 9, 2014.
- Speech at 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, MD, March 6, 2014.
- Keynote address at 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, MD, March 13, 2013.


2016 -
Sen. Ted Cruz started out the road to the Republican nomination on the right foot, winning the Iowa caucuses with 51,666 votes (27.6%) to  Donald Trump's 45,427 (24.3%). Cruz also did better than expected in the New Hampshire primary.  However, South Carolina, seen as ideal territory for Cruz's strong social conservative message, provided a bit of a setback as he finished third, well behind Trump and narrowly trailing Marco Rubio; allegations of lying and dirty tricks likely hurt (+).  The campaign had envisaged that strong showing in the March 1 SEC contests would propel Cruz to the nomination.  Donald Trump disrupted those plans, but Cruz wins in his home state of Texas and in Oklahoma and Alaska kept him well in the race.  Cruz also won the CPAC straw poll, and as Marco Rubio appeared to be faltering, Cruz sought to frame the race as being between him and Trump.  Rubio dropped out on March 15, but John Kasich remained in the race and continued to challenge both Cruz's and Trump's electability. 

Cruz sought to portray his win in the April 5 Wisconsin primary as a "turning point."  "Hillary, get ready, here we come," he declared.  Cruz's campaign also proved adept at outmanoeuvering the Trump campaign in a number of states as their delegate selection processes progressed.  Then came the April 19 New York primary, in which Cruz managed just 14.5 percent of the vote, followed by five more primaries in Northeastern states on April 26.  Cruz was trounced; his best showing was 21.6 percent in Pennsylvania, and he fell to about 400 delegates behind Trump.  Meanwhile the campaign seized upon the May 3 primary in Indiana as its best hope.  On April 24 the Cruz and Kasich announced an agreement wherein Cruz would focus on Indiana and Kasich would compete in Oregon and New Mexico (+).  On April 27 he made an even bigger move, naming former HP CEO Carly Fiorina as his running mate (+).  He also gained the endorsement of Gov. Mike Pence.  However, it was for naught as he fell short in the Indiana primary and suspended his campaign.
Logo for Cruz for President      

2015 - On March 23 Sen. Ted Cruz became the first major candidate to officially announce for president.  A campaign release stated, "Opting to forgo what has become known as the 'explore phase' of a presidential campaign, Senator Cruz is signaling his confidence in having both the grassroots support and the financial resources necessary to win the Republican nomination.In a video launching the campaign Cruz offered "real conservative change and a proven record (+)," and in his announcement speech at a convocation at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, he declared, "It is a time for truth. It is a time for liberty. It is a time to reclaim the Constitution of the United States (+)."  

Cruz's pitch to faith voters seems to be going over very well.  Kevin R. Baird, D.Min, a pastor in North Charleston, South Carolina, who is executive director of the South Carolina Pastors Alliance, observed a couple of weeks after Cruz's announcement, "He is not ashamed to hang out with people like me. This also sent the secularist, liberal elite into a frenzy. I like that too. I want a candidate who is willing to withstand the onslaught of the secular left (+)."  Baird emphasized that he was not yet endorsing a candidate.  Cruz held large rallies for religious liberty on Aug. 21 in Des Moines, IA and Nov. 14 in Greenville, SC.  On Nov. 19 Cruz announced formation of a national prayer team to launch on Dec. 1 (+).  On Nov. 20, Cruz reported that his Faith Leadership Team comprised more than 200 faith leaders (+).

Cruz made a strong early impression on the money front.  He reported raising about $4 million in the eight days following his announcement (+).  Then, on April 8 a group of four pro-Cruz super PACs announced (+) they would "collect and deposit contributions in excess of $31 million this week from multiple donors."  Spokesman Dathan Voelter stated, “The Keep the Promise network of PACs is here to make sure the common-sense, conservative message of Senator Cruz reaches as many ears as possible across America."  However, the huge sum did not discourage other social conservatives such as former Sen. Rick Santorum and former Gov. Mike Huckabee from entering the race. 

In addition to money, the Cruz campaign has been hard at work organizing in the early states; by mid-May it had announced leadership teams in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. On Nov. 17 the campaign announced it had coordinators in all 163 congressional districts in the 24 states that will have a presidential primary or caucus prior to March 15 (+); it also said it had county chairs in all 171 counties in the first four states, and had over 100,000 volunteers signed up.  The campaign also touted its "Cruz Crew" campaign app (+).

New for Cruz in the 114th Congress is chairmanship of Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Competitiveness.  Cruz continues to be one of the leading critics of Obamacare, and on March 3 he introduced the Health Care Choice Act, "which would remove Obamacare’s costly insurance mandates and allow residents in one state the option to purchase a health insurance plan of their choice in any other state (
+)." 

Cruz's memoir A Time for Truth (Broadside Books) came out at the end of June.


2014
- Cruz seems poised for a White House run.  In 2013-14 he was the most frequent traveller to the three early states of IA, NH and SC (16 trips), although he spent less time than Perry and Paul in the states (20 days to 24 and 21).  Unlike other 2016 hopefuls, Cruz maintained a relatively low profile in general election races. 
His PAC, which reported total receipts of $2.1 million, made independent expenditures and contributions, and he did some rallies, for example with Senate candidates including Pat Roberts (KS), David Perdue (GA) and Dan Sullivan (AK), but he was not out there cutting a bunch of ads or headlining rallies in some of the really tight races.  An independent Draft Ted Cruz for President super PAC formed in Jan. 2014 posted an online petition that managed to attract only 18,805 signatures by Dec. 30.  Another super PAC formed to support Cruz immediately after the midterms; the Stand for Principle PAC filed with the FEC on Nov. 5, and according to news reports chairman/director Maria Strollo Zack planned to raise $50 million by Super Tuesday.  Cruz rounded out the year garnering another early endorsement; in a Dec. 30 letter Saul Anuzis, former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, cited Cruz's "ability to build and attract a coalition that will be vibrant beyond just expanding our grassroots conservative turnout (>)."

Meanwhile, in the Senate Cruz continued to ruffle some of his colleagues.  On Nov. 20, when President Obama announced his executive actions on immigration, Sen. Cruz stood up as one of the fiercest critics of Obama's "lawlessness."  On Dec. 13 as the Senate was attempting to finish work on the $1.1 trillion cromnibus spending bill, Cruz attempted to raise a "constitutional point of order to defund President Obama's illegal executive amnesty."  However, the high-profile move backfired; keeping the Senate in session allowed Democrats to approve a number of President Obama's nominees and forced some of his colleagues to change their schedules. 

In late July, Cruz when House Republican leadership was attempting to pass an emergency funding measure to address the surge of unaccompanied children arriving at the Southern border from Central America, Cruz put a wrench in their efforts.  He met with a group of House Republicans on the evening of July 30
, arguing that "the crisis at the border is a direct consequence of President Obama’s lawlessness" and that "Republicans should unite to stop the amnesty."  The next day House leadership, realizing it did not have sufficient votes, was forced to cancel the vote; they passed a modified bill on Aug. 1.  Democrats and their allies had some fun with the notion of "Speaker Cruz."  An email and graphic (+) from American Bridge summed up the situation: "What happens when the Republican-controlled House attempts to pass its own border control bill? Why, Speaker Cruz comes to the rescue once again to ground legislative efforts to a halt. Whether it's shutting down the government or stopping his own party's efforts to appear relevant and in control on a key issue, Ted Cruz can always be counted on to lead the Republican Party to his own far right extremes - and further and further away from the rational middle ground that appeals to everyone other than the Tea Party base."

Modest Activity in the Midterms, including...




2013 - Sen. Cruz's Facebook page describes him as a "passionate fighter for limited government, economic growth, and the Constitution."  He has also been called a "wacko bird" (by Sen. John McCain, who later apologized), a "right-wing nut job" (by former Gov. Howard Dean) and a "Texas hothead" (by the Washington Post's Dana Milbank) and portrayed as the Mad Hatter (on the cover of the Oct. 13 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek.  Editorial cartoonists had a field day caricaturing the now 43-year old Senator from Houston.  One year into his first term, Cruz made a mark as a Tea Party idealogue with a confrontational style.  In March he delivered the keynote address at the 40th annual CPAC (+).  Target number one for Cruz was the Affordable Care Act; he has been one of the fiercest critics of Obamacare and has pushed relentlessly for full repeal of the law.  On Sept. 24-25 he spoke for 21 hours and 19 minutes on the Senate floor, a talkathon, technically not a fillibuster, in opposition to Obamacare that included a reading of Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham.  He was one of the leaders in the strategy to defund Obamacare as a condition for funding the government (the continuing resolution), which led to the 16-day government shutdown starting on Oct. 1.  Finally, on the evening of Oct. 16, hours before the U.S. government reached its debt limit, the Senate achieved a deal, the House approved it, and after midnight President Obama signed it into law.  The shutdown was seen as doing significant damage to the Republican brand, but Cruz was unapologetic.  Around this time, on Oct. 11, Cruz won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll with 42-percent of the votes.  Capping off the year, in December, the U.S. Senator "Ted" Cruz to the Future Comic Coloring Activity Book (Dec. 5, 2013, Really Big Coloring Books®, Inc.) achieved #1 bestseller status in the Children's Coloring Book category on Amazon; it is, after all, "approved by teachers and educators."  Cruz was also one of four runners up to Pope Francis as Time magazine's 2013 Person of the Year.  Cruz gave every indication that he intends to make a presidential bid.  In Nov. 2012, a week after he was elected, he established a leadership PAC, the Jobs, Growth and Freedom Fund; and in March he established the Cruz Victory Committee, a joint fundraising committee with his Senate campaign committee.  He has made a few visits to the early primary states.  And, at year's end the story emerged that he was taking steps to renounce his dual Canadian citizenship.

Sen. Cruz has produced a series of reports "documenting documenting the Obama Administration’s
lawlessness and other abuses of powers":

The Obama Administration's Attempts to Expand Federal Power - April 9, 2013
The Administration's Lawless Acts on Obamacare and Continued Court Challenges to Obamacare - Dec. 9, 2013
The Obama Administration's Assault on Texas - Feb. 4, 2014
The Obama Administration's Abuse of Power - May 8, 2014
The Obama Administration’s Continued Attempts to Expand Federal Power - July 1, 2014


Readings

Ted Cruz.  June 30, 2015.  A TIME FOR TRUTH: Reigniting the Miracle of America.  New York: Broadside Books (Harper Collins imprint)
In A Time For Truth, his first book, Cruz tells his story as a Cuban immigrant’s son who made it to the Ivy League, to the Supreme Court bar, and eventually the U.S. Senate...  Pulling back the curtain on the backroom deals between Republicans, Democrats, and the lobbyists who keep them in office (instead of keeping them accountable to their constituents), Cruz offers an inside look at what has gone wrong in our nation’s capital. He argues that the need for change is urgent, and that the only way to bring about real change is to revitalize the Constitutional principles that made our country great.
Ed. note: Paul Bedard, writing for the Washington Examiner, reported on April 2, 2014 that Cruz was to receive an advance of close to $1.5 million.


Early Articles
Jeffrey Toobin.  "The Absolutist."  The New Yorker.  June 30, 2014.

Erica Grieder.  "The Man in the Arena."  Texas Monthly.   February 2014.
Jason Zengerle.  "Ted Cruz: The Distinguished Wacko Bird from Texas."  GQ.  October 2013.
Andrew Ferguson.  "Washington Builds a Bugaboo."  The Weekly Standard.  Sept. 23, 2013.


American Bridge 21st Century PAC: Ted Cruz

also:

TED CRUZ TO THE FUTURE - Comic Coloring Activity Book.  Dec. 2013.  Really Big Coloring Books, Inc.


Eligibility
An interesting question that has popped up from time to time since before the campaign even began is whether Cruz is a "natural born Citizen" as required by Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution.  Cruz was born in Calgary in 1970; his mother is American born and his father was born in Cuba.  In Aug. 2013 The Dallas Morning News reported that Cruz held dual citizenship (Todd Gillman: "Dual citizenship may pose problem if Ted Cruz seeks presidency").  Following that article, Cruz formally renounced his Canadian citizenship in May 2014.   In early Jan. 2016, as Cruz was rising in Iowa polls, Donald Trump started to raise the issue, for example telling the Washington Post that Cruz "could be tied up in court for two years" over the matter."  In February, Trump himself threatened a lawsuit, although he never followed through.  Other people have, however; there have been at least a couple of lawsuits as well as challenges to Cruz's eligibility to appear on various state ballots.  In March, attorney and law professor Victor Williams launched a write-in campaign for the Republican nomination for president in nine states mainly for the purpose of challenging Cruz's ballot access in those states (+).
  this page last revised May 12, 2016

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