View source for Biography:Ted Cruz

{{short description|United States Senator from Texas}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Ted Cruz
|image        = Ted Cruz official 116th portrait (cropped).jpg
|jr/sr        = United States Senator
|state        = {{wipe|Texas}}
|alongside    = John Cornyn
|term_start   = January 3, 2013
|term_end     =
|predecessor  = Kay Bailey Hutchison
|successor    = 
|office1      = 3rd Solicitor General of Texas
|governor1    = [[Biography:Rick Perry|Rick Perry]]
|term_start1  = January 9, 2003
|term_end1    = May 12, 2008
|predecessor1 = Julie Parsley
|successor1   = James C. Ho
|birth_name   = Rafael Edward Cruz
|birth_date   = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1970|12|22}}}}
|birth_place  = Calgary, Alberta, Canada
|death_date   = 
|death_place  = 
|party        = Republican
|spouse       = {{marriage|Heidi Nelson|2001}}
|children     = 2
|relatives    = Rafael Cruz (father)
|education    = [[Organization:Princeton University|Princeton University]] (BA)<br>[[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]] ([[Social:Juris Doctor|JD]])
|signature    = Tedcruzsig.svg
|website      = {{url|cruz.senate.gov|Senate website}}
}}
'''Rafael Edward Cruz''' ({{IPAc-en|k|r|uː|z}}; born December 22, 1970<!-- DO NOT add the birth place of Ted Cruz in the lead section other than in the infobox; it violates MOS (see MOS:BLPLEAD) and consensus is against it. -->) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator for {{wipe|Texas}} since 2013. He was the runner-up for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

Cruz holds degrees from [[Organization:Princeton University|Princeton University]] and Harvard Law School. From 1999 to 2003, he held various government positions, serving as Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, and as a Domestic Policy Advisor to George W. Bush during Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. Cruz served as [[Social:Solicitor|Solicitor General]] of Texas from 2003 to 2008, having been appointed by Texas Attorney General and later Governor Greg Abbott. He was the longest-serving solicitor general in Texas history and the first Hispanic American to serve in that capacity. From 2004 to 2009, Cruz was an [[Social:Adjunct professor|adjunct professor]] at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation.

In 2012, Cruz ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison. He is the first Hispanic American to serve as a U.S. Senator from Texas. In 2016, Cruz ran for President of the United States, winning Republican contests in 12 states before withdrawing from the race. He was reelected to the Senate in 2018, defeating Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke by a slim margin of 50.9% to 48.3% in the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history. Along with Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio, Cruz is one of three current U.S. Senators of Cuban descent.

==Early life and family==
Cruz was born Rafael Edward Cruz on December 22, 1970,<ref name="CongressionalBio">{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C001098|title=CRUZ, Rafael Edward (Ted) – Biographical Information |publisher=Bioguide.congress.gov|accessdate=April 27, 2013}}</ref><ref name="AustinAmStCruz">[http://www.statesman.com/s/news/politics/ted-cruz/ U.S. senator Ted Cruz], ''Austin American-Statesman''</ref> at Foothills Medical Centre<ref name="Macleans">{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz: Made in Canada|last1=Abel|first1=Allen|last2=Markusoff|first2=Jason |url=http://www.macleans.ca/politics/washington/ted-cruz-made-in-canada|newspaper=Maclean's Magazine|date=January 13, 2016 |accessdate=January 15, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Panetta|first=Alexander|date=May 9, 2015|title=Birthplace of President Ted Cruz? Calgary homeowner hopes it never happens|url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/birthplace-of-president-ted-cruz-calgary-homeowner-hopes-it-never-happens|newspaper=Calgary Herald|agency=The Canadian Press|accessdate=January 15, 2015|quote=Steward is pretty sure the American conservative began life at the Foothills Medical Centre — a government-run, Canadian socialist hospital.}}</ref> in Calgary, Alberta, to Eleanor Elizabeth (''née'' Darragh) Wilson and Rafael Cruz.<ref name="Texplainer08132012">{{cite news|title=Texplainer: Could Canadian-Born Ted Cruz Be President?|first=John Wayne|last=Ferguson |url=http://www.texastribune.org/2012/08/13/texplainer-could-canadian-born-ted-cruz-be-preside/|newspaper=Texas Tribune |quote=Bottom line: Despite being born in Canada, Cruz is a U.S. citizen because his mother was a U.S. citizen, according to constitutional experts.|date=August 13, 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Time4Truth">{{cite book |title=A Time For Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America |publisher=Broadside Books |author=Cruz, Ted |year=2015 |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-06-236561-3}}</ref><ref name="CostaNatlRev08282013" /><ref name="GilmanDallasNews08182013">{{cite news|title=Canada-born Ted Cruz became a citizen of that country as well as U.S.|author=Gillman, Todd J. |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130818-born-in-canada-ted-cruz-became-a-citizen-of-that-country-as-well-as-u.s..ece|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|date=August 18, 2013|accessdate=August 19, 2013}}</ref> Eleanor Wilson was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She is of three-quarters Irish and one-quarter Italian descent, and earned an [[Social:Undergraduate degree|undergraduate degree]] in mathematics from [[Organization:Rice University|Rice University]] in the 1950s.<ref name="NYTimesEckholm08012012"/>

Cruz's father was born and raised in Cuba. He left in 1957 to attend the [[Organization:University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas at Austin]] and obtained political asylum in the U.S. after his four-year student visa expired.<ref name="Welna20June">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/06/20/193585553/how-ted-cruzs-father-shaped-his-views-on-immigration|title=How Ted Cruz's Father Shaped His Views On Immigration|date=June 20, 2013|accessdate=December 14, 2015|first=David|last=Welna|publisher=NPR}}</ref> He earned Canadian citizenship in 1973<ref name="Macleans" /> and became a [[Philosophy:Naturalization|naturalized]] U.S. citizen in 2005.<ref name="CostaNatlRev08282013">{{cite news|title=The Rise of Rafael Cruz|author=Costa, Robert|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/356934/rise-rafael-cruz-robert-costa|newspaper=National Review|date=August 28, 2013|quote=Born in Matanzas, Cuba, he grew up in the Cuba middle class in the 1950s, as the son of an RCA salesman and an elementary-school teacher. As a teenager, he grew to detest the regime of Fulgencio Batista. He and some of his schoolmates frequently clashed with Batista's officials. Eventually, he linked up with Castro's guerrilla groups and supported their attempts to overthrow Batista. It's a decision he still regrets. His move toward Castro, he explains, was mostly due to his anger with Batista's government, which at one point imprisoned him and tortured him for his work with the revolutionaries. He says he never shared Castro's Communism, but at the time, it was the best way to fight Batista's oppression. By age 18, in 1957, he knew he needed to get out, and a friend essentially bribed an official to secure him an exit permit.|accessdate=August 28, 2013}}</ref><ref name="OlsenHousChron10132012">{{cite news|title=Cruz's life defies simplification|author=Olsen, Lise|url=http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Cruz-s-life-defies-simplification-3946523.php|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=October 13, 2012|quote=The ex-revolutionary pastor regularly stumps for his son, whom he's compared to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah – a relentless advocate with "fire in his bones." Ted, he says, is "not going to Washington to compromise"|accessdate=August 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Swartz|first=Mimi|date=March 31, 2015|title=Ted Cruz and the New Politics of Texas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/opinion/ted-cruz-and-the-new-politics-of-texas.html|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}}|location=New York|access-date=April 17, 2015}}</ref>

At the time of his birth, Ted Cruz's parents had lived in Calgary for three years and were working in the oil business as owners of a [[Earth:Reflection seismology|seismic-data processing]] firm for oil [[Engineering:Well drilling|drilling]].<ref name="CostaNatlRev08282013"/><ref name="FOXNewsLatino04082013">{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz's Father Talks About Latinos, Conservatives and the American Dream|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/04/08/ted-cruz-father-and-inspiration-talks-about-latinos-conservatives-and-american|newspaper=FOX News Latino|quote=Cruz, the father, and his wife, Eleanor Darragh, left the United States for a few years, living in Canada to take advantage of the oil boom.|date=April 8, 2012|accessdate=October 6, 2013}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes11182011">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/us/politics/ted-cruz-is-a-test-for-the-tea-party-in-texas-race.html|title=A Test for the Tea Party in Texas Senate Race|author=Zernike, Kate|date=November 18, 2011|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|accessdate=November 18, 2011}}</ref><ref name="newvos1">{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz: New Voice for the American Dream|first=Terence|last=Jeffrey|url=http://cwww.creators.com/opinion/terence-jeffrey/ted-cruz-new-voice-for-the-american-dream.html|newspaper=Creators Syndicate|year=2011|accessdate=August 17, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053539/http://cwww.creators.com/opinion/terence-jeffrey/ted-cruz-new-voice-for-the-american-dream.html|archivedate=September 21, 2013}}</ref><ref name="GarrettDallasNews04282013">{{cite news|title=Senate candidate Ted Cruz aims to pick up mantle of Reagan|author=Garrett, Robert T.|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20120428-senate-candidate-ted-cruz-aims-to-pick-up-mantle-of-reagan.ece|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|date=April 28, 2013|accessdate=August 22, 2013}}</ref> Cruz has said that he is the son of "two mathematicians/computer programmers."<ref name="Mervis">{{cite news|last=Mervis|first=Jeffrey|date=December 9, 2015|title=From a bully pulpit, Ted Cruz offers his take on climate change|url=http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2015/12/bully-pulpit-ted-cruz-offers-his-take-climate-change|newspaper=ScienceInsider|location=[[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]]|access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref> In 1974, Cruz's father left the family and moved to Texas.<ref>Larson, Leslie. [http://m.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ted-cruz-plans-renounce-canadian-citizenship-article-1.1561380 "Ted Cruz plans to renounce Canadian citizenship"], ''Daily News, New York'' (December 30, 2013).</ref> Later that year, Cruz's parents reconciled and relocated the family to Houston.<ref name="Macleans"/> They divorced in 1997.<ref name="Recio1Apr">{{cite news|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article24782596.html|title=Ted Cruz's family story: Poignant but incomplete|first=Maria|last=Recio|work=McClatchy|date=April 1, 2015|accessdate=December 14, 2015}}</ref> Cruz has two older half-sisters, Miriam Ceferina Cruz and Roxana Lourdes Cruz, from his father's first marriage. Miriam died in 2011.<ref name="Recio1Apr"/><ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/2015/06/26/ted-cruzs-secret-weapon-win-right Ted Cruz's Secret Weapon to Win the Right], ''National Journal'', Andy Kroll, June 25, 2015; retrieved November 11, 2015.</ref><ref name="TimeTruthCruz">{{cite book|title=A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America|pages=28–44, 101–03|publisher=Broadside|year=2015|first=Ted|last=Cruz}}</ref>

==Education==
Cruz attended two private high schools: Faith West Academy, near Katy, Texas;<ref name="eriksen">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.chron.com/insidekaty/archives/2005/08/supreme_court_l.html|title=Solicitor general carries "supreme" weight with Katy roots|last=Eriksen|first=Helen|date=August 11, 2005|work=Houston Chronicle|accessdate=October 2, 2013}}</ref> and Second Baptist High School in Houston, from which he graduated as [[Social:Valedictorian|valedictorian]] in 1988.<ref name=OlsenHousChron10132012/><ref>{{cite web|title=Distinguished Alumni|url=http://www.secondbaptistschool.org/distinguishedalumni|publisher=Second Baptist School|accessdate=April 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mackey |first=Maureen |date=March 23, 2015 |title=Ted Cruz: 20 Things You Didn't Know About Him |url=http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/03/23/Ted-Cruz-20-Things-You-Didn-t-Know-About-Him |newspaper=Fiscal Times |access-date=April 23, 2015 |quote=7: He graduated from Houston's Second Baptist High School in 1988 and was valedictorian of his class.}}<br/>{{cite news |last=Dunham |first=Richard |date=October 15, 2012 |title=Profile: A man of many contrasts, Ted Cruz defies easy stereotypes |url=http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/10/profile-a-man-of-many-contrasts-ted-cruz-defies-easy-stereotypes/ |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |access-date=April 23, 2015 |quote=Cruz was one of only two Hispanics when he transferred to Houston's Second Baptist School his junior year. He graduated valedictorian in 1988.}}<br/>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Jake |date=March 19, 2015 |title=Will grassroots support be enough for Sen. Ted Cruz in 2016? |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-grassroots-support-be-enough-for-sen-ted-cruz-in-2016/ |publisher=CBS News |access-date=April 23, 2015 |quote=He graduated valedictorian of his high school in 1988, attended Princeton University for his undergraduate studies, and received his law degree from Harvard University.}}<br />{{cite news |last=Barbash |first=Fred |date=March 23, 2015 |title=Why Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., is the perfect launchpad for Ted Cruz |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/23/why-liberty-university-in-lynchburg-va-is-the-perfect-launchpad-for-ted-cruz|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=April 23, 2015|quote=The last time he spoke there, Cruz made no mention of his Ivy League degrees but recalled fondly his memories of Second Baptist High School in Houston, where he was valedictorian, and how his wife was the daughter and granddaughter of missionaries.}}<br/>{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/ted-cruz|title=Ted Cruz|author=Staff|year=2015|publisher=Biography.com|access-date=April 23, 2015|quote=The valedictorian of his class at Houston's Second Baptist High School, Cruz went on to Princeton University.}}</ref>

During high school, Cruz participated in a Houston-based group known at the time as the Free Market Education Foundation, a program that taught high school students the philosophies of economists such as [[Biography:Milton Friedman|Milton Friedman]] and Frédéric Bastiat.<ref name=GarrettDallasNews04282013/><ref name=Lizza>{{Cite journal|last=Lizza |first=Ryan|date=November 19, 2012|title=The Party Next Time|journal=The New Yorker|pages=50–57|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/11/19/121119fa_fact_lizza|accessdate=July 20, 2013}}</ref>

Cruz graduated ''cum laude'' from [[Organization:Princeton University|Princeton University]] in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in public policy<ref>{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/135705/ted-cruz|title=Ted Cruz's Biography |location=Philipsburg, Montana |work=Project Vote Smart |accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.<ref name="CongressionalBio"/><ref name=PrincetonUCruzAlum>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz 92 Sworn-in as U.S. Senator from Texas|author=Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs|url=http://wws.princeton.edu/node/11519|newspaper=[[Organization:Princeton University|Princeton University Bulletin]]|date=January 3, 2013|location=Princeton, New Jersey|accessdate=April 14, 2014}}</ref> While at Princeton, he competed for the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's Debate Panel and won the top speaker award at both the 1992 U.S. National Debating Championship and the 1992 North American Debating Championship.<ref name="debate.princeton.edu">{{cite news|title=Hall of Fame |author=Princeton Debate Panel|url=http://debate.princeton.edu/results/hall-of-fame/|newspaper=Princeton University Debate Panel|accessdate=October 2, 2013}}</ref> In 1992, he was named U.S. National Speaker of the Year and, with his debate partner David Panton, Team of the Year by the American Parliamentary Debate Association.<ref name="debate.princeton.edu"/> Cruz and Panton later represented Harvard Law School at the 1995 World Debating Championship, losing in the semifinals to a team from Australia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-01-10/news/25715479_1_death-penalty-princeton-university-war-criminals|title=Australians Win Debate At Princeton A Singapore Woman Won The Award For Best Speaker. English Is Not Her Native Language|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Horowitz |first=Jason |date=April 22, 2015 |title=Ted Cruz Showed Eloquence, and Limits, as Debater at Princeton |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/us/politics/ted-cruz-honed-political-skills-in-princeton-debate-club.html|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}} |accessdate=April 25, 2015 |quote=By the time he was a senior at Princeton University in 1992, Ted Cruz had developed an arsenal of rhetorical skills and theatrical gestures that made him one of the most polished performers on the college debate circuit.}}</ref><ref name="PrinceDebateNamed"/> Princeton's debate team named their annual novice championship after Cruz.<ref name="PrinceDebateNamed">{{cite web|url=http://debate.princeton.edu/our-tournaments/cruz-novice-championship/|title=Cruz Novice Championship|accessdate=January 11, 2014|author=Princeton Debate Panel|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111061415/https://debate.princeton.edu/our-tournaments/cruz-novice-championship/|archivedate=January 11, 2014}}</ref>

Cruz's senior thesis at Princeton investigated the separation of powers; its title, ''Clipping the Wings of Angels,'' was inspired by a passage attributed to James Madison: "If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary." Cruz argued that the drafters of the Constitution intended to protect their constituents' rights, and that the last two items in the Bill of Rights offer an explicit stop against an all-powerful state.<ref name="NYTimesEckholm08012012">{{cite news|last=Eckholm|first=Erik|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/us/politics/republican-senate-candidate-in-texas-is-known-as-an-intellectual-force.html|title=A Republican Voice With Tea Party Mantle and Intellectual Heft|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=August 1, 2012|accessdate=February 28, 2013}}</ref><ref name=MotherJones02021992>{{cite web|last=Cruz|first=Ted|url=https://www.motherjones.com/documents/480888-cruz-thesis|title=Ted Cruz's 1992 "Clipping the Wings of Angels"|publisher=[[Organization:Princeton University|Princeton University]]|date=April 2, 1992|accessdate=February 28, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109110404/https://www.motherjones.com/documents/480888-cruz-thesis|archivedate=January 9, 2013}}</ref>

After graduating from Princeton, Cruz attended Harvard Law School, graduating ''magna cum laude'' in 1995 with a [[Social:Juris Doctor|Juris Doctor]] degree.<ref name="CongressionalBio" /><ref name="BegalaBeast08012012">{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz and Texas's Tea Party Revolution|author=Begala, Paul|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/01/paul-begala-ted-cruz-and-texas-s-tea-party-revolution.html|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=August 1, 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> While at Harvard Law, he was a primary editor of the ''Harvard Law Review,'' an executive editor of the ''Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy'', and a founding editor of the ''Harvard Latino Law Review''.<ref name=PrincetonUCruzAlum/> Referring to Cruz's time as a student at Harvard Law, Professor Alan Dershowitz said, "Cruz was off-the-charts brilliant".<ref name=WashPostWeinerDershowitz>{{cite news|title=Who is Ted Cruz?|author=Weiner, Rachel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/who-is-ted-cruz/2012/08/01/gJQAqql8OX_blog.html|newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|date=August 1, 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz, wacko like a fox|author=McManus, Doyle|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/31/opinion/la-oe-mcmanus-column-ted-cruz-20130731|newspaper={{wipe|Los Angeles Times}}|date=August 12, 2013|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Defusing the H-Bomb: In politics, Harvard alums frame diplomas strategically|author=Clarida, Matthew Q.|author2=Lucky, Jared T.|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/5/30/harvard-degree-politics-alumni/|newspaper=The Harvard Crimson|date=May 30, 2013|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Yes, Ted Cruz for Texas|author=Editors|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/312576/yes-ted-cruz-texas-editors|newspaper=National Review|date=July 30, 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> At Harvard Law, Cruz was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics.<ref name=MorganLew03292011/>

Cruz serves on the Board of Advisors of the ''Texas Review of Law and Politics''.<ref name=TXRevLawPol>{{cite news |title=Board of Advisors |publisher=Texas Review of Law and Politics |url=http://trolp.org/about/board-of-advisors/ |accessdate=August 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021000635/http://trolp.org/about/board-of-advisors/ |archivedate=October 21, 2013  }}</ref>

==Legal career==

===Clerkships===

Cruz served as a [[Social:Law clerk|law clerk]] to J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1995<ref name=MorganLew03292011>{{cite web|url=http://www.morganlewis.com/bios/tcruz|title=R. (Ted) Edward Cruz, Attorney Biography|website=[[Wayback Machine]]|publisher=Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP|location=Houston, Texas|date=March 29, 2011|accessdate=December 30, 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100521123956/http://www.morganlewis.com/bios/tcruz|archivedate=May 21, 2010|quote=R. (Ted) Edward Cruz is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice and leads the firm's U.S. Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation Practice.}}</ref><ref name=RussLaw360MorganLew>{{cite news|title=Rising Star: Morgan Lewis' R. Ted Cruz|first=Hilary|last=Russ|url=https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/Cruz_Law360RisingStar_05apr10.pdf|newspaper=Law360|date=April 5, 2010|accessdate=August 17, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927141153/https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/Cruz_Law360RisingStar_05apr10.pdf|archivedate=September 27, 2013}}</ref> and to William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, in 1996.<ref name="CongressionalBio"/> He was the first Hispanic to clerk for a Chief Justice of the United States.<ref name=Townhall05252011>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz: New Voice for the American Dream|author=Jeffery, Terry|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/terryjeffrey/2011/05/25/ted_cruz_new_voice_for_the_american_dream/page/full/|publisher=Townhall.com|date=May 25, 2011|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref>

===Private practice===
After Cruz finished his clerkships, he took a position with Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal, now known as Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, from 1997 to 1998.<ref name=TXTribProfile>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz|author=Tribpedia|url=http://www.texastribune.org/tribpedia/ted-cruz/about/|newspaper=Texas Tribune|accessdate=August 21, 2013}}</ref> At the firm, Cruz worked on matters relating to the National Rifle Association and helped prepare testimony for the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton.<ref name="JToobin">{{cite news|last1=Toobin|first1=Jeffrey|title=Ted Cruz, The Absolutist|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/06/30/140630fa_fact_toobin?currentPage=all|accessdate=June 25, 2014|work=The New Yorker|date=June 30, 2014}}</ref> In 1998, Cruz was briefly one of the attorneys who represented Representative John Boehner during his litigation against Representative Jim McDermott over the alleged leak of an illegal recording of a phone conversation whose participants included Boehner.<ref name=WestneatSeaTimes05191998>{{cite news|author=Westneat, Danny|url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980519&slug=2751576|title=Civil Suit Against Mcdermott Over Leaked Tapes Gears Up – Rep. Boehner Says His Privacy Was Violated|date=May 19, 1998|work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Allan |date=September 29, 2015 |title=John Boehner once hired Ted Cruz to be his lawyer |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-cruz-john-boehner-lawyer-2015-9 |newspaper=Business Insider |location=New York, New York |access-date=April 29, 2016|quote=Furious, Boehner called it an invasion of privacy. He hired Cruz, who had recently served as a clerk for then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist.}}</ref>

===Bush administration===
Cruz joined the George W. Bush presidential campaign in 1999 as a domestic policy adviser, advising then-Governor Bush on a wide range of policy and legal matters, including civil justice, criminal justice, constitutional law, immigration, and government reform.<ref name=TXTribProfile/> During the 2000 Florida presidential recounts, he assisted in assembling the Bush legal team, devising strategy, and drafting [[Social:Pleading|pleading]]s for filing with the Supreme Court of Florida and U.S. Supreme Court in the case ''Bush v. Gore''.<ref name="MorganLew03292011" /><ref name="DayBeastReinventCruz">{{cite news|title=The Reinvention of Ted Cruz|author=Cottle, Michelle|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/12/the-reinvention-of-ted-cruz.html|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=March 12, 2013|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> Cruz recruited future Chief Justice John Roberts and noted attorney Mike Carvin to Bush's legal team.<ref name="JToobin" />

After Bush took office, Cruz served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Justice Department<ref name="CongressionalBio"/><ref name=DayBeastReinventCruz/> and as the director of policy planning at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.<ref name="CongressionalBio"/><ref name=WashPostWeinerDershowitz/><ref name=DayBeastReinventCruz/>

===Texas Solicitor General===
Appointed to the office of [[Social:Solicitor#United States|Solicitor General]] of Texas by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott,<ref name=RussLaw360MorganLew/><ref name="TXAGAbbott04092008"/> Cruz served in that position from 2003 to 2008.<ref name=Lizza/><ref name=MorganLew03292011/> The office was established in 1999 to handle appeals involving the state, but Abbott hired Cruz with the idea that Cruz would take a "leadership role in the United States in articulating a vision of strict constructionism". As Solicitor General, Cruz argued before the Supreme Court of the United States nine times, winning five cases and losing four.<ref name=JToobin/>

Cruz authored 70 U.S. Supreme Court briefs and presented 43 oral arguments.<ref name=WashPostWeinerDershowitz/><ref name=RussLaw360MorganLew/><ref name=HarvLawBulWilsonFall2012>{{cite web|first=David McKay|last=Wilson|title=Carrying the Tea Party Banner: U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz calls for a 'return to the framers' vision of a constitutionally limited government.'|work=Harvard Law School Bulletin|date=Fall 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013|url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/bulletin/2012/fall/feature_4.php}}</ref> His nine appearances before the Supreme Court are the most by any practicing lawyer in Texas or current member of Congress.<ref name=BathejaTXTrib07232012>{{cite news|title=For Cruz, Supreme Court Work at Heart of Campaign|author=Batheja, Aman|url=http://www.texastribune.org/texas-people/ted-cruz/cruz-supreme-court-work-heart-campaign/|newspaper=Texas Tribune|date=July 23, 2012|quote=We ended up year after year arguing some of the biggest cases in the country. There was a degree of serendipity in that, but there was also a concerted effort to seek out and lead conservative fights.|accessdate=August 21, 2013}}</ref> Cruz has said, "We ended up year after year arguing some of the biggest cases in the country. There was a degree of serendipity in that, but there was also a concerted effort to seek out and lead conservative fights."<ref name=BathejaTXTrib07232012/>

In 2003, while Cruz was Texas Solicitor General, the Texas Attorney General's office declined to defend Texas's sodomy law in ''Lawrence v. Texas'', in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws banning homosexual sex were unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-29/ted-cruz-anti-gay-marriage-crusader-not-always |title= Ted Cruz: Anti-Gay Marriage Crusader? Not Always |last1=Przybyl |first1=Heidi |date=April 29, 2015 |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |accessdate=May 1, 2015}}</ref>

In the landmark case of ''District of Columbia v. Heller'', Cruz drafted the amicus brief signed by the attorneys general of 31 states arguing that the [[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]] handgun ban should be struck down as infringing upon the Second Amendment [[Social:Right to keep and bear arms|right to keep and bear arms]].<ref name=HarvLawBulWilsonFall2012/><ref name=BlockNPR03142008>{{cite news|last=Block|first=Melissa|title=D.C. Gun Ban Critic: Court Must Clarify Constitution|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=88251874|publisher=NPR|date=March 14, 2008}}</ref> He also presented oral argument for the amici states in the companion case to ''Heller'' before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.<ref name=HarvLawBulWilsonFall2012/><ref name=WSJ03142007>{{cite news|title=Second Amendment Showdown|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117384168237936437|newspaper={{wipe|The Wall Street Journal}}|date=March 14, 2007|accessdate=August 17, 2013|first=Ted|last=Cruz}}</ref>
[[File:Ted Cruz by Gage Skidmore 4.jpg|left|thumb|Cruz at the Values Voters Summit in October 2011]]

In addition to his success in ''Heller'', Cruz successfully defended the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds before the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, winning 5–4 in ''Van Orden v. Perry''.<ref name=WashPostWeinerDershowitz/><ref name=MorganLew03292011/><ref name=HarvLawBulWilsonFall2012/>

In 2004, Cruz was involved in the high-profile case surrounding a challenge to the constitutionality of public schools' requiring students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance (including the words "under God", legally a part of the Pledge since 1954), ''Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow''.<ref name=WashPostWeinerDershowitz/><ref name=MorganLew03292011/> He wrote a brief on behalf of all 50 states that argued that the plaintiff, a non-custodial parent, did not have standing to file suit on his daughter's behalf.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Elk Grove Unified School District and David W. Gordon, Superintendent vs. Michael A. Newdow, et al. |opinion=No. 02-1624 |pinpoint=Amici Curiae Brief |court=Supreme Court of the United States |date=December 2003 |url=https://www.tedcruz.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/NewdowAmicus.pdf |accessdate=March 20, 2015 |quote=Because of Their "History and Ubiquity," Acknowledgments of Religion in Patriotic or Historical Contexts Are Entirely Consistent with the Establishment Clause.}}</ref> The Supreme Court upheld the position of Cruz's brief.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/atheist-loses-2nd-under-god-court-appeal/ |title=Atheist Loses 2nd 'Under God' Court Appeal|date=March 12, 2010|accessdate=March 16, 2016}}</ref>

Cruz served as lead counsel for the state and successfully defended the multiple litigation challenges to the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting plan in state and federal district courts and before the U.S. Supreme Court, which was decided 5–4 in his favor in ''League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry''.<ref name=MorganLew03292011/><ref name=ReinertHousChron06282006>{{cite news|last=Reinert|first=Patty|title=Most of Texas' redistricting map upheld |url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4009070.html|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=June 28, 2006|accessdate=August 15, 2013}}</ref>

In ''Medellin v. Texas'', Cruz successfully defended Texas against an attempt to reopen the cases of 51 Mexican nationals, all of whom were convicted of murder in the United States and on death row.<ref name=WashPostWeinerDershowitz/><ref name=MorganLew03292011/><ref name=RussLaw360MorganLew/><ref name=HarvLawBulWilsonFall2012/> With the support of the George W. Bush Administration, the petitioners argued that the United States had violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to notify the convicted nationals of their opportunity to receive legal aid from the Mexican consulate.<ref name=JToobin/><ref name="Medellín case">Medellín v. Texas, 552 U.S. 491 (2008) (No. 06-984).</ref> They based their case on a decision of the International Court of Justice in the Avena case, which ruled that by failing to allow access to the Mexican consulate, the US had breached its obligations under the Convention.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.N. court rules U.S. execution violated treaty|publisher=CNN|first=Bill |last=Mears|date=January 19, 2009|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/19/mexican.execution.violation/|accessdate=March 23, 2015}}</ref> Texas won the case in a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court holding that ICJ decisions were not binding in domestic law and that the President had no power to enforce them.<ref name=JToobin/><ref name="Medellín case"/>

Michael Wayne Haley was arrested for stealing a calculator from Walmart in 1997.<ref>[https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/541/386.html Dretke v. Haley], 541 U.S. 386, 389–92 (2004).</ref> Because of Haley's previous criminal convictions, he was sentenced to 16-and-a-half years in prison under the Texas habitual offender law. After Haley had exhausted his appeals, it became known that Haley's robbery offense occurred three days before one of his other convictions was finalized; this raised a question about the applicability of the habitual offender statute in his case. As Solicitor General, Cruz declined to vacate Haley's sentence, saying "I think justice is being done because he had a full and fair trial and an opportunity to raise his errors."<ref name="CunninghamDretkeCase2005">{{cite journal |last=Cunningham |first=Larry |year=2005 |title= The Innocent Prisoner and the Appellate Prosecutor Some Thoughts on Post-Conviction Prosecutorial Ethics after Dretke v Haley |ssrn=1152792 |journal=Criminal Justice Ethics |volume=24 |issue=2 |page=13 |doi=10.1080/0731129X.2005.9992185 |access-date=}}</ref> The Supreme Court later remanded the case to lower courts based on Haley's ineffective assistance of counsel claim. During oral argument, Cruz conceded that Haley had a very strong argument for ineffective assistance of counsel since Haley's attorney failed to recognize the sentencing error and that he would not move to have Haley re-incarcerated during the appeal process.<ref name="CunninghamDretkeCase2005"/> After remand, Haley was re-sentenced to "time served".<ref name="NRO_dretke_v_haley">{{cite news|last1=French|first1=David|title=David Brooks's Hypocritical Attack on Ted Cruz Reveals an Important Truth|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429777/ted-cruzs-christianity-deep-and-abiding|accessdate=March 24, 2016|work=National Review|date=January 14, 2016}}</ref>

In 2008 ''American Lawyer'' magazine named Cruz one of the 50 Best Litigators under 45 in America,<ref name="TXAGAbbott04092008">{{cite news|title=Attorney General Abbott Appoints New Solicitor General: Longtime Solicitor General R. Ted Cruz returns to private practice; Deputy Solicitor General Sean Jordan to serve on leadership team|author=Office of Attorney General Greg Abbott|url=https://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagnews/release.php?id=2406|newspaper=State of Texas|date=April 9, 2008|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name=AmLawMed01012007>{{cite news|title=The Young Litigators Fab Fifty|url=http://www.americanlawyer.com/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=900005470251&slreturn=20130221194544|newspaper=American Lawyer Media|date=January 1, 2007|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> and ''The National Law Journal'' named him one of the 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America.<ref name=AmLawMed05262008>{{cite news |title=The 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America |work=The National Law Journal |url=http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202421621086&The_50_Most_Influential_Minority_Lawyers_in_America |agency=American Lawyer Media|date=May 26, 2008|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name=AmbrogiAmLawMed05282008>{{cite news |title=Legal Blog Watch |author=Ambrogi, Robert J. |url= http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2008/05/the-most-influe.html|newspaper=American Lawyer Media|publisher=Law.com|date=May 27, 2008|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> In 2010 ''Texas Lawyer'' named him one of the 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century.<ref name=AmLawMed06282010>{{cite news|title=The 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202463008691&The_25_Greatest_Texas_Lawyers_of_the_Past_QuarterCentury|newspaper=American Lawyer Media|date=June 28, 2010|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="TexasLawyer">{{cite news|title=Luncheon Honors 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century|author=Tex Parte Blog, ''American Lawyer Media''|url=http://texaslawyer.typepad.com/texas_lawyer_blog/2010/10/25-greatest-lawyers-of-the-past-quarter-century-honored.html|newspaper=Texas Lawyer|date=October 6, 2010|accessdate=August 17, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224131315/http://texaslawyer.typepad.com/texas_lawyer_blog/2010/10/25-greatest-lawyers-of-the-past-quarter-century-honored.html|archivedate=December 24, 2013}}</ref>

===Return to private practice===
After leaving the Solicitor General position in 2008, Cruz worked in a private law firm in Houston, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, often representing corporate clients, until he was sworn in as U.S. senator from Texas in 2013.<ref name="NYTimesEckholm08012012"/><ref name=MorganLew03292011/><ref name=PassarellaLaw05062008>{{cite web|first=Gina|last=Passarella|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202421154053|title=Morgan Lewis Adds Texas Solicitor General|publisher=Law.com|date=May 6, 2008|accessdate=June 2, 2011}}</ref> At Morgan Lewis, he led the firm's U.S. Supreme Court and national appellate litigation practice.<ref name=PassarellaLaw05062008 /> In 2010, he abandoned a bid for state attorney general when incumbent Attorney General Greg Abbott, who hired Cruz as Solicitor General, decided to run for reelection.<ref name=OlsenHousChron10132012/>

At Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Cruz represented [[Company:Pfizer|Pfizer]] in a lawsuit brought by a group of public hospitals and community health centers, who accused Pfizer of overcharging.<ref>{{cite web|title = Ted Cruz has always had a master plan. Now it could win him the White House.|url = https://www.yahoo.com/politics/ted-cruz-has-been-plotting-1305876417003574.html|publisher = Yahoo!|accessdate = January 1, 2016}}</ref> Shandong Linglong Rubber Company was found guilty of marketing versions of tires that were based on blueprints stolen by a former employee of a Florida businessman and ordered to pay $26 million to the Floridian. Cruz worked on the Chinese company's appellant brief. The appeals court denied the appeal and affirmed the jury's award.<ref name=MotherJones>{{cite news |last=Corn |first=David |date=April 9, 2015 |title=As a private lawyer, Ted Cruz defended companies found guilty of wrongdoing |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/ted-cruz-lawyer-braun-medical-shandong-linglong |newspaper=Mother Jones |location=San Francisco |access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref> Cruz represented drug manufacturer B. Braun Medical Inc. in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit after the company was found guilty of wrongfully discharging a former employee. Cruz asserted that she had failed to prove that B. Braun had directed her to violate the law and that she had not presented sufficient evidence that her refusal to violate the law was why she had been fired. The appeals court rejected Cruz's argument and affirmed the $880,000 award.<ref name=MotherJones/> Cruz represented [[Company:Toyota|Toyota]] in an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court in a [[Social:Statute of limitations|statute of limitations]] case, where a judge wanted to investigate Toyota for [[Philosophy:Contempt|contempt]] after a former Toyota in-house lawyer accused Toyota of unlawfully withholding documents in a product liability case.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lindell |first=Chuck |date=August 27, 2010 |title=Court gets OK for Toyota contempt hearing |url=http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/court-gets-ok-for-toyota-contempt-hearing/nRxMH/ |newspaper=Austin American-Statesman |location=Austin, Texas |access-date=January 27, 2016|quote=Under Texas law, the trial court lost all jurisdiction in the case 30 days after Green's lawsuit was dismissed, Toyota's appellate lawyer, Ted Cruz of Houston, told the Supreme Court in briefs.}}</ref> Cruz unsuccessfully argued the judge's jurisdiction expired 30 days after the case was dismissed following an out-of-court settlement, but later won a second appeal using the same argument.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=1b2345e5-2604-4746-9fc6-75ba569e6edd&coa=cossup&DT=OTHER&MediaID=4e371e0b-190e-445a-b849-3d1af22168f3|title = Court of Appeals November 6, 2011 Opinion|website = Texas Judicial Branch|publisher = State of Texas|pages = 72–77}}</ref>

Cruz defended two record-setting $54-million personal injury awards in New Mexico at the appellate level, including one that had been thrown out by a lower court.<ref name=Corn11Feb>{{cite news|url= https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/ted-cruz-tort-reform-2016|title=As a Lawyer, Ted Cruz Defended Huge Jury Awards. As a Politician, He Opposed Them.|work=Mother Jones|first=David|last=Corn|date=February 11, 2015|accessdate=January 22, 2016}}</ref> He represented a mentally disabled man who was allegedly raped by an employee of the facility where he lived, and the family of a 78-year-old resident of an Albuquerque nursing home who died of internal bleeding.<ref name=Corn11Feb/><ref name=Williamson20Jan>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/opinion/two-sides-of-ted-cruz-tort-reformer-and-personal-injury-lawyer.html|title=Two Sides of Ted Cruz: Tort Reformer and Personal Injury Lawyer|date=January 20, 2016|accessdate=January 22, 2016|first=Elizabeth|last=Williamson}}</ref> The settlements were sealed in both cases.<ref name=Corn11Feb/><ref name=Williamson20Jan/>

==U.S. Senate==
[[File:John Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Kay Bailey Hutchison.jpg|thumb|Cruz in 2012 with his predecessor-to-be (Sen. Hutchison at right) and his future fellow senator from Texas (Sen. Cornyn at left)]]

===2012 election===
Cruz's victory in the Republican primary was described by the ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'' as "the biggest upset of 2012 ... a true grassroots victory against very long odds".<ref name="WashPostFix11282012">{{cite news|title=The biggest upset of 2012|first=Sean|last=Sullivan|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/28/the-biggest-upset-of-2012/|newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|date=November 28, 2012|accessdate=August 20, 2013}}</ref> On January 19, 2011, after U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said she would not seek reelection, Cruz announced his candidacy via a blogger conference call.<ref name="hogan">{{cite web|url=http://www.redstate.com/hogan/2011/01/19/ted-cruz-makes-it-a-new-game-for-us-senate-in-texas/|title=Ted Cruz Makes it a New Game for U.S. Senate in Texas|date=January 19, 2011|publisher=RedState|accessdate=January 29, 2015}}</ref> In the Republican senatorial primary, Cruz ran against sitting Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. Cruz was endorsed first by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin<ref name=LevyYahoo0510212>{{cite news|author=Edwards-Levy, Ann|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/sarah-palin-endorses-ted-cruz-senate-texas_n_1507213.html|title=Sarah Palin Endorses Ted Cruz For U.S. Senate In Texas|accessdate=August 4, 2013|date=May 10, 2012|publisher=[[Company:Yahoo!|Yahoo!]]}}</ref> and then by the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative political action committee;<ref>{{cite news|last=Toeplitz|first=Shira|title=Club for Growth Picks Texas Senate Favorite|url=http://www.rollcall.com/news/Club-for-Growth-Picks-Texas-Senate-Favorite-206144-1.html|newspaper=Roll Call|date=June 2, 2011}}</ref> Erick Erickson, former editor of prominent conservative blog RedState,<ref name=RedStateEndorse>{{cite news|last=Erickson|first=Erick|title=Ted Cruz for Senate|url=http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/06/02/ted-cruz-for-senate-in-texas/|newspaper=RedState|date=June 2, 2011}}</ref> the [[Organization:FreedomWorks|FreedomWorks]] for America super PAC,<ref>{{cite news|title=FreedomWorks PAC Likes Ted Cruz|first=Jim|last=Geraghty|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/268649/freedomworks-pac-likes-ted-cruz|newspaper=National Review|date=June 2, 2011|accessdate=February 18, 2013}}</ref> nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin,<ref>{{cite news|title=Mark Levin endorses Ted Cruz for US Senate in Texas|first=Mark|last=Levin|url=http://www.therightscoop.com/mark-levin-endorses-ted-cruz-for-us-senate-in-texas/|newspaper=The Right Scoop|date=June 4, 2011|accessdate=February 18, 2013}}</ref> Tea Party Express,<ref name=ShapiroWacoTrib01252012>{{cite news|title=Tea Party Express endorses Ted Cruz for Senate in Waco|first=Michael W.|last=Shapiro|url=http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/waco_politics_report/tea-party-express-endorses-ted-cruz-for-senate-in-waco/article_522b2244-d22f-5aed-bb4d-587c900c92c9.html|newspaper=Waco Tribune-Herald|date=January 25, 2012|accessdate=February 18, 2013}}</ref> Young Conservatives of Texas,<ref name=ScharrerSAExpNews01052012>{{cite news|title=Young conservatives choose Cruz|first=Gary|last=Scharrer|url=http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-politics/2012/01/young-conservatives-choose-cruz/|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=January 5, 2012|accessdate=February 18, 2013}}</ref> and U.S. Senators [[Biography:Tom Coburn|Tom Coburn]], Jim DeMint,<ref name=SullivanHotline11282011>{{cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Sean|url=http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2011/11/for-demint-a-fe.php|title=For DeMint, A Few Well-Timed Endorsements|work=National Journal|date=November 28, 2011|accessdate=March 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415004620/http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2011/11/for-demint-a-fe.php|archivedate=April 15, 2012}}</ref> Mike Lee,<ref name=CatanesePolitico03072011>{{cite web|last=Catanese|first=David|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/davidcatanese/0311/Sen_Lee_backs_Ted_Cruz_in_Texas.html?showall|title=Sen. Lee backs Ted Cruz in Texas|work=Politico |date=March 7, 2011|accessdate=March 30, 2012}}</ref> Rand Paul<ref name=GravoisFWStar07262011>{{cite news|title=Tea Party stalwart Rand Paul backs Cruz over Dewhurst in Texas' U.S. Senate race|first=John|last=Gravois|url=http://blogs.star-telegram.com/politex/2011/07/tea-party-stalwart-rand-paul-backs-cruz-over-dewhurst-in-senate-race.html|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|date=July 26, 2011|accessdate=February 18, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224190527/http://blogs.star-telegram.com/politex/2011/07/tea-party-stalwart-rand-paul-backs-cruz-over-dewhurst-in-senate-race.html|archivedate=February 24, 2013}}</ref> and Pat Toomey.<ref name=McKinleyHouChron08012011>{{cite news|title=Sen. Pat Toomey Endorses Ted Cruz for The Texas Senate Race|author=McKinley, Kathleen|url=http://blog.chron.com/texassparkle/2011/08/sen-pat-toomey-endorses-ted-cruz-for-the-texas-senate-race/|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=August 1, 2011|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> He was also endorsed by former Texas Congressman Ron Paul,<ref name=WhittingtonYahoo05072012>{{cite web|author=Whittington, Mark|url=https://news.yahoo.com/ron-rand-paul-endorse-ted-cruz-texas-senate-213900341.html|title=Ron, Rand Paul Endorse Ted Cruz for Texas Senate Seat|accessdate=August 4, 2013|date=May 7, 2012|publisher=[[Company:Yahoo!|Yahoo!]]}}</ref> George P. Bush,<ref name=DayBeastReinventCruz/> and former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania [[Biography:Rick Santorum|Rick Santorum]].<ref name=WeissertAP05242012>{{cite news|title=Santorum endorses Ted Cruz in Texas Senate race|author=Weissert, Will|url=http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/may/24/santorum-endorses-cruz-in-texas-us-senate-race/?print=1|agency=Associated Press|date=May 24, 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> Former Attorney General Edwin Meese served as national chairman of Cruz's campaign.<ref name=DayBeastReinventCruz/>

Cruz won the runoff for the Republican nomination by a 14-point margin over Dewhurst, support for Dewhurst having plummeted while Cruz's vote total dramatically increased from the first round.<ref name=WeissertHuffPost07312012>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz Defeats David Dewhurst In Texas Senate Runoff|author=Weissert, Will|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/ted-cruz-texas-runoff_n_1726411.html|agency=Associated Press|date=July 31, 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> Cruz won despite being outspent by Dewhurst, who held a statewide elected office,<ref name=HartfieldABC07312012>{{cite news |title=Ted Cruz Wins In Texas GOP Senate Runoff |author=Hartfield, Elizabeth |url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/ted-cruz-wins-in-texas-gop-senate-runoff/ |publisher=ABC News |date=July 31, 2012 |accessdate=March 25, 2015|quote=Dewhurst enjoyed a huge financial advantage over Cruz. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Dewhurst poured $11 million of his own personal fortune—he founded a successful energy company called Falcon Seaboard—into his campaign, spending a total of $19 million, as compared to Cruz's $7 million spent.}}</ref> $19 million to $7 million.<ref name=HartfieldABC07312012/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/07/27/10321/texas-senate-race-attracts-13-million-super-pac-spending|title=Texas Senate race attracts $13 million in super PAC spending|last=Duszak|first=Alexandra|work=Center for Public Integrity}}</ref>

In the November 6 general election, Cruz faced Democratic nominee Paul Sadler, an attorney and a former state representative from Henderson, in east Texas. Cruz won with 4.5 million votes (56.4%) to Sadler's 3.2 million (40.6%). Two minor candidates garnered the remaining 3% of the vote.<ref name="TXSecOfStateHistRes">{{cite news|title=Election Results|author=State of Texas|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe|newspaper=Office of the Secretary of State|date=July 31, 2012|accessdate=August 17, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062336/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe|archivedate=January 9, 2014}}</ref> According to a poll by Cruz's pollster Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, Cruz received 40% of the Hispanic vote, vs. 60% for Sadler, outperforming Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney with the Hispanic vote in Texas.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ted Cruz and the Hispanic Vote|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/ted-cruz-and-hispanic-vote|accessdate=April 15, 2014|date=July 26, 2013}}</ref><ref>Drucker, David M. [http://washingtonexaminer.com/ted-cruz-poll-dems-have-edge-over-gop-among-hispanics-in-texas/article/2533470 Ted Cruz poll: Dems have edge over GOP among Hispanics in Texas], ''Washington Examiner'', July 25, 2013.</ref>

After ''{{wipe|Time (magazine)}}'' magazine reported that Cruz might have violated ethics rules by failing to publicly disclose his financial relationship with Caribbean Equity Partners Investment Holdings during the 2012 campaign, he called his failure to disclose the connection an inadvertent omission.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/18/ted-cruz-failed-to-disclose-ties-to-jamaican-holding-company/|title=Ted Cruz Failed To Disclose Ties To Caribbean Holding Company|last=Calabresi|first=Massimo|date=October 18, 2013|website=Time|accessdate=October 30, 2013}}</ref>

In January 2016, ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' reported that Cruz and his wife had taken out nearly $1 million in low-interest loans from Goldman Sachs (where she worked) and Citibank, and failed to report them on Federal Election Commission disclosure statements as required by law.<ref name=McIntire13Jan>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/us/politics/ted-cruz-wall-street-loan-senate-bid-2012.html|title=Cruz Didn't Disclose Loan From Goldman Sachs for His First Senate Campaign|work=The New York Times|date=January 13, 2016|accessdate=January 14, 2016|first=Mike|last=McIntire}}</ref> Cruz disclosed the loans on his Senate financial disclosure forms in July 2012, but not on the FEC form.<ref name=Mullins>Mullins, Brody.  [https://www.wsj.com/articles/ted-cruz-didnt-adequately-disclose-2012-loans-for-senate-campaign-1452750887 "Ted Cruz Didn't Adequately Disclose 2012 Loans for Senate Campaign"], ''{{wipe|The Wall Street Journal}}'' (January 14, 2016).</ref> There is no indication that Cruz's wife had any role in providing any of the loans, or that the banks did anything wrong.<ref name=Mullins /> The loans were largely repaid by later campaign fundraising. A spokesperson for Cruz said his failure to report the loans to the FEC was "inadvertent" and that he would file supplementary paperwork.<ref name=McIntire13Jan/>

===Legislation===
[[File:Overton.jpg|thumb|250px|Cruz presents a U.S. flag to World War II veteran Richard Arvine Overton during opening ceremony for outpatient clinic in Austin on August 22, 2013]]
As of November 2018, Cruz has sponsored 105 bills of his own, including:<ref>{{cite web|title=Senator Cruz's Legislation|url=https://www.congress.gov/member/ted-cruz/2175?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Ted+Cruz%22%5D%2C%22sponsorship%22%3A%22sponsored%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22bills%22%7D|publisher=Library of Congress|accessdate=November 14, 2018}}</ref>

* S.177, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health-care related provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, introduced January 29, 2013
* S.505, a bill to prohibit the use of [[Engineering:Unmanned combat aerial vehicle|drones]] to kill citizens of the United States within the United States, introduced March 7, 2013
* S.729 and S. 730, bills to investigate and prosecute felons and fugitives who illegally purchase firearms, and to prevent criminals from obtaining firearms through straw purchases and trafficking, introduced March 15, 2013
* S.1336, a bill to permit States to require proof of citizenship for registering to vote in federal elections, introduced July 17, 2013
* S.2170, a bill to increase coal, natural gas, and crude oil exports, to approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, to expand oil drilling offshore, onshore, in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, and in Indian reservations, to give states the sole power of regulating hydraulic fracturing, to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard, to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating [[Chemistry:Greenhouse gas|greenhouse gas]]es, to require the EPA to assess how new regulations will affect employment, and to earmark natural resource revenue to paying off the federal government's debt, introduced March 27, 2014
* S.2415, a bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to eliminate all limits on direct campaign contributions to candidates for public office, introduced June 3, 2014

===Government shutdown of 2013===
Cruz had a leading role in the October 2013 government shutdown.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kirby|first1=Jen|title=Ted Cruz, mascot of the 2013 shutdown, says he has "consistently opposed shutdowns"|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/1/22/16921166/ted-cruz-2013-shutdownsays-he-has-consistently-opposed-shutdowns|accessdate=May 10, 2018|publisher=Vox|date=January 22, 2018}}</ref><ref name="FahrentholdZezima">{{cite web|first1=David A. |last1=Fahrenthold|first2=Katie |last2=Zezima|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-cruzs-plan-to-defund-obamacare-failed--and-what-it-achieved/2016/02/16/4e2ce116-c6cb-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html|title=For Ted Cruz, the 2013 shutdown was a defining moment|work=The Washington Post|date=February 16, 2016}}</ref><ref name="RajuShutdown">{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/ted-cruz-blasted-by-angry-gop-colleagues-government-shutdown-097753|last=Raju|first=Manu|title=Some colleagues angry with Cruz|work=POLITICO|date=October 3, 2013}}</ref> Cruz gave a 21-hour Senate speech in an effort to hold up a federal budget bill and thereby defund the [[Finance:Affordable Care Act|Affordable Care Act]].<ref name="FahrentholdZezima"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/10/02/228376346/why-sen-cruz-looms-large-in-government-shutdown-drama |title=Why Ted Cruz Looms Large In Government Shutdown Drama|publisher=NPR|date=October 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kapur|first=Sahil|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-09-08/ted-cruz-to-star-in-government-shutdown-the-sequel|title= Ted Cruz to Star in Government Shutdown, the Sequel|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=September 8, 2015}}</ref> During the speech, Cruz quoted from the book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Troyan |first1=Mary |title=Rick Santorum mocks Ted Cruz for 'Green Eggs and Ham'|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/01/04/rick-santorum-mocks-ted-cruz-green-eggs-and-ham/78253012/|date=January 4, 2016|newspaper=USA Today |accessdate=September 27, 2019}}</ref> Cruz persuaded the House of Representatives and House Speaker John Boehner to include an ACA defunding provision in the bill.<ref name="RajuShutdown"/> In the U.S. Senate, former Majority Leader Harry Reid blocked the [[Social:Filibuster|filibuster]] attempt because only 18 Republican Senators supported the filibuster.<ref name="RajuShutdown"/> To supporters, the move "signaled the depth of Cruz's commitment to rein in government".<ref name="FahrentholdZezima"/> This move was extremely popular among Cruz supporters, with Rick Manning of Americans for Limited Government naming Cruz "2013 Person of the Year" in an op-ed in ''The Hill'', primarily for his filibuster against the Affordable Care Act.<ref name="ManningTheHill12272013">{{cite news|last=Manning|first=Rick|date=December 27, 2013|title=Ted Cruz: 2013 Person of the Year|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/lawmaker-news/194072-ted-cruz-2013-person-of-the-year|newspaper=The Hill|location=Washington, DC|publisher=Capitol Hill Publishing Corp|accessdate=December 28, 2013|quote=No politician had a greater impact on the past year than freshman U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cruz came from the Lone Star State not owing the D.C. political establishment anything, after he beat the chosen replacement for Kay Bailey Hutchison in an underfunded, grassroots driven Republican primary election.}}</ref> Cruz was also named "2013 Man of the Year" by conservative publications TheBlaze,<ref>{{cite news|last=Mantyla|first=Kyle|date=December 11, 2014|title=Glenn Beck Declares Ted Cruz 'Blaze Man Of The Year'|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/glenn-beck-declares-ted-cruz-blaze-man-year|newspaper=Right Wing Watch|location=[[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]]|publisher=People for the American Way|accessdate=April 21, 2013}}</ref> ''FrontPage Magazine'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenfield|first=Daniel|date=December 30, 2013|title=Frontpage's 2013 Man of the Year: Ted Cruz|url=http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/frontpages-2013-man-of-the-year-ted-cruz/|newspaper=FrontPage Magazine|location=Sherman Oaks, California|publisher=David Horowitz Freedom Center|accessdate=April 21, 2014}}</ref> and ''The American Spectator'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Lord|first=Jeffery|date=December 19, 2013|title=Ted Cruz: Man of the Year|url=http://spectator.org/articles/57187/ted-cruz-man-year|newspaper=The American Spectator|location=Arlington, Virginia|publisher=The American Spectator Foundation|accessdate=April 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220042532/http://spectator.org/articles/57187/ted-cruz-man-year|archive-date=February 20, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> "2013 Conservative of the Year" by Townhall.com,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hawkins|first=John|date=December 31, 2014|title=Top 10 Conservatives of 2013|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2013/12/31/top-10-conservatives-of-2013-n1770176/page/full|publisher=Townhall.com|accessdate=April 21, 2014}}</ref> and "2013 Statesman of the Year" by the Republican Party of Sarasota County, Florida.<ref>{{cite news|last=Leary|first=Alex|date=January 7, 2014|title=Sarasota GOP to honor Ted Cruz to be honored as 'Statesman of the Year'|url=http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/sarasota-gop-to-honor-ted-cruz-to-be-honored-as-statesman-of-the-year/2159965|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|location=Tampa Bay Metro Area|accessdate=April 21, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405133836/http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/sarasota-gop-to-honor-ted-cruz-to-be-honored-as-statesman-of-the-year/2159965|archivedate=April 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersblog.com/sarasota-gop-to-honor-sen-ted-cruz-as-its-statesman-of-the-year|title=Sarasota GOP to honor Sen. Ted Cruz as its 'Statesman of the Year'|last1=Ammann|first1=Phil|date=January 7, 2014|publisher=saintpetersblog.com|accessdate=February 20, 2014}}</ref> He was a finalist for ''Time'' magazine's "Person of the Year" in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Edelman|first=Adam|date=December 9, 2013|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/time-magazine-releases-finalists-2013-person-year-award-article-1.1542204|title=TIME magazine releases finalists for 2013 'Person of the Year' award|location=New York |work=Daily News|accessdate=April 21, 2014}}</ref> To critics, including some Republican colleagues<ref name="RajuShutdown"/> such as Senator Lindsey Graham, the move was ineffective.<ref name="FahrentholdZezima"/>

Cruz has consistently denied any involvement in the 2013 government shutdown, even though he cast several votes to prolong it and was blamed by many within his own party for prompting it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/01/22/eyes-roll-ted-cruz-denies-role-2013-government-shutdown-speechless-says-one-senator|title=Eyes roll as Ted Cruz denies role in 2013 government shutdown; 'Speechless' says one senator|date=January 22, 2018|work=Dallas News|access-date=January 23, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/jan/22/ted-cruz/ted-cruz-says-hes-opposed-shutdowns-he-hasnt-alway/|title=Ted Cruz says he's opposed shutdowns, but he hasn't always|work=@politifact|access-date=May 10, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

===S. 2195===
On April 1, 2014, Cruz introduced S. 2195, a bill that would allow the President of the United States to deny visas to any ambassador to the {{wipe|United Nations}} who has been found to have been engaged in [[Social:Espionage|espionage]] or [[Social:Terrorism|terrorist]] activity against the United States or its allies and may pose a threat to U.S. national security interests.<ref name=2195sum>{{cite web|title=S. 2195 – Summary|url=http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/2195|publisher=United States Congress|accessdate=April 11, 2014}}</ref> The bill was written in response to [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]'s choice of Hamid Aboutalebi as its ambassador.<ref name=Congressapproves>{{cite news|last=Marcos|first=Cristina|title=Congress approves bill banning Iran diplomat|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/votes/203202-house-votes-to-ban-irans-un-ambassador|accessdate=April 11, 2014|newspaper=The Hill|date=April 10, 2014}}</ref> Aboutalebi was involved in the Iran hostage crisis, in which of a number of American diplomats from the US embassy in Tehran were held captive in 1979.<ref name="Congressapproves"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Neuman|first=Scott|date=April 2, 2014|title=U.S. Troubled By Iran's Choice Of 1979 Hostage-Taker For U.N. Post|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/02/298412119/u-s-troubled-by-irans-choice-of-1979-hostage-taker-for-u-n-post|publisher=NPR|accessdate=November 11, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/irans-reformers-include-more-than-one-former-hostage-taker/|work=The New York Times|first=Robert|last=Mackey|title=Iran's Reformers Include More Than One Former Hostage-Taker|date=April 4, 2014|accessdate=April 11, 2014}}</ref>

Under the headline "A bipartisan message to Iran", Cruz thanked President [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] for signing S. 2195 into law. The letter, published in the magazine ''Politico'' on April 18, 2014, starts with "Thanks to President Obama for joining a unanimous Congress and signing S. 2195 into law". Cruz also thanked senators from both political parties for "swiftly passing this legislation and sending it to the White House".<ref>{{cite web|title=A bipartisan message to Iran|url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/04/a-bipartisan-message-to-iran-105837.html#.U1RTecfAJu_|work=Politico Magazine|accessdate=April 20, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ted Cruz thanks Obama for denying visas to terrorists|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/20/ted-cruz-thanks-obama-denying-visas-terrorists/|work=The Washington Times|accessdate=April 20, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz Writes Thank You Letter To Obama In Politico|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/04/20/ted-cruz-writes-thank-you-letter-obama-politico|publisher=Fox News Channel|accessdate=April 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402115940/http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/04/20/ted-cruz-writes-thank-you-letter-obama-politico|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Committee assignments===
In his first two years in the Senate, Cruz attended 17 of 50 public Armed Services Committee hearings, 3 of 25 Commerce Committee hearings, 4 of the 12 Judiciary Committee hearings, and missed 21 of 135 roll call votes during the first three months of 2015.<ref name=POLITICO.tedcruz>{{cite web|last1=Wright|first1=Austin|title=Ted Cruz the senator: Heard but not seen|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/ted-cruz-2016-senate-vote-record-117201.html|work=Politico Magazine|accessdate=April 22, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422160320/http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/ted-cruz-2016-senate-vote-record-117201.html|archivedate=April 22, 2015}}</ref>

* '''Committee on Armed Services'''
** Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
** Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
** Subcommittee on Seapower
* '''Committee on the Judiciary'''
** Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights (Chairman)
** Subcommittee on Oversight, Federal Rights and Agency Activities
** Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
* '''Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation'''
** Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
** Subcommittee on Science and Space (Chairman)
* '''Committee on Rules and Administration'''
* '''Special Committee on Aging'''

===Comments on President Obama===
In a November 2014 Senate speech, Cruz accused the president of being "openly desirous to destroy the Constitution and this Republic".<ref name="JesseWeiner">Jesse Weiner, [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/11/ted-cruz-confused-about-cicero/383066/ Ted Cruz: Confused About Cicero: What the Texas Republican misrepresents about treason and politics in the Roman Republic], ''The Atlantic'' (November 21, 2014).</ref> In the same speech, Cruz invoked the speeches of the ancient Roman senator [[Biography:Cicero|Cicero]] against Catiline to denounce Obama's planned executive actions on immigration reform.<ref name="JesseWeiner"/> Classics Professor Jesse Weiner, writing in ''The Atlantic'', said that Cruz's analogy was "deeply disquieting" because "In casting Obama in the role of Catiline, Cruz unsubtly suggests that the sitting president was not lawfully elected and is the perpetrator of a violent insurrection to overthrow the government ... In effect, he accuses the president of high treason. Regardless of one's views on immigration reform and the Obama administration at large, this is dangerous rhetoric."<ref name="JesseWeiner"/>

Cruz has repeatedly said that the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran "will make the Obama administration the world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism".<ref name="Collins">Eliza Collins, [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/ted-cruz-calls-barack-obama-sponsor-terrorism-iran-nuclear-deal-120780 Cruz stands by calling Obama a sponsor of terrorism], ''Politico'' (July 29, 2015).</ref> In response, Obama called Cruz's statements an example of "outrageous attacks" from Republican critics that crossed the line of responsible discourse: "We've had a sitting senator, who also happens to be running for President, suggest that I'm the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Maybe this is just an effort to push Mr. Trump out of the headlines, but it's not the kind of leadership that is needed for America right now."<ref name="Collins"/> Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also criticized Cruz for his remarks, writing that although he, too, opposed the Iran agreement, Cruz's statement connecting Obama to terrorism was "way over the line" and "hurts the cause".<ref>David Jackson, [http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/07/30/romney-hits-cruz-over-obamaterrorism-claim/ Romney hits Cruz over Obama/terrorism claim], ''USA Today'' (July 30, 2015).</ref><ref>Alex Griswold, [http://www.mediaite.com/online/mitt-romney-ted-cruz-way-over-the-line-calling-obama-terror-sponsor/ Mitt Romney: Ted Cruz 'Way Over the Line' Calling Obama Terror Sponsor], Mediaite (July 30, 2015).</ref>

After the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, Cruz expressed his view that the winner of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, rather than Obama, should appoint a new Justice.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stack |first=Liam |date=February 13, 2016 |title=Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz says Obama shouldn't appoint the next replacement |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia-dies-at-79/ted-cruz-president-obama-should-not-name-scalias-successor/ |newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}} |access-date= March 1, 2016}}</ref> In June 2016, Cruz blamed the Obama administration for the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, reasoning that it did not track the perpetrator Omar Mateen properly while he was on the terrorist watchlist.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2016/06/20/ted-cruz-colorado-darryl-glenn-obama-orlando-shooting/|title=In Colorado, Cruz backs Glenn, rips Obama over Orlando|date=June 20, 2016|first=John|last=Frank|newspaper=The Denver Post}}</ref> Following the terrorist attack on Nice, France, Cruz said in a statement that the country was at risk as a result of the Obama administration having a "willful blindness" to radical Islamists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/15/ted-cruz-to-obama-after-nice-attack-willful-blindn/|first=Jessica|title=Ted Cruz to Obama after Nice attack: 'Willful blindness is not a policy'|last=Chasmar|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=July 15, 2016}}</ref> With the passing of Fidel Castro in November, Cruz charged Obama with celebrating and lionizing Castro in public statements he made addressing the death.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ted-cruz-us-officials-attend-fidel-castros-funeral/story?id=43803794|title=Ted Cruz: No U.S. Officials Should Attend Fidel Castro's Funeral|date=November 27, 2016|publisher=ABC News|first=Jessica|last=Hopper}}</ref> On December 28, after Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech defending the U.S.'s decision to allow a U.N. resolution to pass that condemned Israeli settlements "on land meant to be part of a future Palestinian state", Cruz denounced the speech as "disgraceful", and said that history would remember Obama and Kerry as "relentless enemies of Israel". Cruz also accused the Obama administration of having a "radical anti-Israel agenda".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/marco-rubio-john-kerry-israel-mideast-speech-reaction-233013|title=Rubio, Cruz denounce Kerry's speech on Israel|work=Politico|date=December 28, 2016|first=Yousef|last=Saba}}</ref>

=== Comments on President Trump ===
[[File:President Trump and the First Lady in El Paso, Texas (48485015661).jpg|thumb|Cruz and President Donald Trump in 2019]]
Cruz, who was one of Donald Trump's most vocal critics during the 2016 presidential campaign, became an important ally of President Trump's in the Senate.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gardner |first=Amy |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-period-of-reckoning-ted-cruz-recasts-himself-from-opposition-force-to-trump-ally/2018/05/24/6814cb84-53a0-11e8-a551-5b648abe29ef_story.html?noredirect=on |title=After period of reckoning, Ted Cruz recasts himself: From opposition force to Trump ally |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=June 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Skibba |first=Ramin |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-ted-cruz-allies-233622 |title=How Cruz and Trump learned to like each other |work=Politico |date=January 13, 2017 |accessdate=June 23, 2018}}</ref>

In late January 2017, after Trump announced Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee, Cruz praised Gorsuch as "brilliant and immensely talented" in a written statement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/01/31/trump-nominates-neil-gorsuch-supreme-court|title=Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court 
|date=January 31, 2017|newspaper=Dallas News|first=Jamie|last=Lovegrove}}</ref> On February 23, while speaking at the 2017 CPAC, Cruz showed interest in Trump nominating young justices in the mold of Scalia and Clarence Thomas.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/23/cruz-urges-trump-field-army-scalias-thomases/ |date= February 23, 2017 |newspaper= Washington Times |title= Cruz urges Trump to field 'army of … Scalias and Thomases' |first=Stephen |last=Dinan |accessdate= February 24, 2017}}</ref> On March 1, Cruz called Trump's joint address to Congress the previous day "positive" and "unifying".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/1/ted-cruz-donald-trump-speech-positive-unifying-vis/|title=Ted Cruz: Trump's speech a 'positive, unifying vision for the country'|date=March 1, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Times}}</ref> Cruz said that during his visit to the Mar-a-Lago estate on March 18, he spoke with affiliates of Trump while negotiating the American Health Care Act.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/ted-cruz-trump-health-care-236233|title=Cruz: I negotiated health care at Mar-a-Lago|date=March 19, 2017|work=Politico}}</ref> On April 6, shortly after the Shayrat missile strike, Cruz released a statement displaying his interest in having Trump appeal to Congress to take "military action in [[Place:Syria|Syria]]" to prevent Islamic terrorists from acquiring weapons stored in Syria.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/327745-cruz-trump-should-make-case-for-military-action-in-syria|title=Cruz: Trump should make the case for military action in Syria|date=April 6, 2017|first=Jesse|last=Byrnes|newspaper=The Hill}}</ref>

In April 2018, in the blurb for Trump's entry on the ''Time'' 100 most influential people of 2017, Cruz wrote, "President Trump is doing what he was elected to do: disrupt the status quo."<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |last1=Cillizza |first1=Chris |title=Ted Cruz's embarrassing ode to Donald Trump is why people hate politicians |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/19/politics/ted-cruz-donald-trump-time-magazine/index.html |publisher=CNN |accessdate=June 6, 2018}}</ref> Cruz's authorship of the blurb was criticized by Charles Pierce of ''Esquire'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pierce |first1=Charles |title=The Three Saddest Words I Ever Read in English: By Ted Cruz |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a19864673/cruz-praise-trump-time/ |website=Esquire |accessdate=June 6, 2018}}</ref> Jay Willis of ''GQ'',<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Willis |first1=Jay |title=Ted Cruz's Write-Up on Trump for the TIME 100 Is an Event Horizon for Utter Self-Humiliation |url=https://www.gq.com/story/ted-cruz-trump-event-horizon |magazine=GQ |accessdate=June 6, 2018}}</ref> and CNN's Chris Cillizza.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

In January 2020, after Iran attacked two U.S. military bases in Iraq, Cruz made comments about the change in Iran policy under President Trump, saying that Obama's policy was appeasement and that the missiles used to attack the bases were bought with money the Obama administration had given Iran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/01/08/cruz_missiles_iran_used_to_attack_us_bases_in_iraq_were_paid_for_by_the_obama_administration.html|title=Cruz: Missiles Iran Used To Attack U.S. Bases In Iraq Were "Paid For By... The Obama Administration"|last=January 8|first=Tim Hains On Date|last2=2020|website=www.realclearpolitics.com|access-date=2020-01-08}}</ref>

===Friction with fellow Republican members of Congress===
Cruz has used harsh rhetoric against fellow Republican politicians, and his relationships with various Republican members of Congress have been strained.<ref name="RachelWeiner">Rachel Weiner, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/07/31/ted-cruz-shies-away-from-some-harsh-rhetoric/ Ted Cruz shies away from some harsh rhetoric], ''The Washington Post'' (July 31, 2013).</ref><ref name="John">Arit John, [http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/09/ted-cruzs-republican-critics/69901/ All of Ted Cruz's Republican Critics], ''The Atlantic'' (September 26, 2013).</ref> In 2013, Cruz called Republicans he thought were insufficiently resistant to Obama's proposals a "surrender caucus".<ref name="RachelWeiner"/> He also called fellow Republicans out as "squishes" on gun-control issues during a Tea Party rally.<ref name="RachelWeiner"/> Cruz's role in the United States federal government shutdown of 2013 in particular attracted criticism from a number of Republican colleagues.<ref name="John"/> Republican Senator John McCain was reported to have particularly disliked Cruz; in a Senate floor speech in 2013, McCain denounced Cruz's [[Philosophy:Reductio ad Hitlerum|reference to Nazis]] when discussing the [[Finance:Affordable Care Act|Affordable Care Act]].<ref name="John"/> In March 2013, McCain also called Cruz and others "wacko birds" whose beliefs are not "reflective of the views of the majority of Republicans".<ref name="John"/> During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, John Boehner described Cruz as "Lucifer in the flesh",<ref>{{cite news |date=April 28, 2016|last=Rushton|first=Christine|title=John Boehner: Ted Cruz is 'Lucifer in the flesh'|url=http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-trailguide-04282016-john-boehner-calls-ted-cruz-lucifer-in-the-flesh-1461850156-htmlstory.html|newspaper={{wipe|Los Angeles Times}}|access-date=April 28, 2016}}</ref> while during an interview, Lindsey Graham said, "If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you."<ref>{{cite news |date=February 26, 2016|last=Treyz|first=Catherine|title=Lindsey Graham jokes about how to get away with murdering Ted Cruz|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/26/politics/lindsey-graham-ted-cruz-dinner/|newspaper=CNN|access-date=April 28, 2016}}</ref>

In a heated Senate floor speech in July 2015, Cruz accused Senate Republican Leader [[Biography:Mitch McConnell|Mitch McConnell]] of telling "a flat-out lie" over his intentions to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which Cruz opposes. "What we just saw today was an absolute demonstration that not only what he told every Republican senator, but what he told the press over and over and over again was a simple lie", Cruz said.<ref name="Morgan&Cowan">David Morgan & Richard Cowan, [https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/24/us-usa-election-cruz-idUSKCN0PY29P20150724 Republican White House hopeful Cruz calls McConnell a liar], Reuters (July 24, 2015).</ref> Cruz's "incendiary outburst" was "unusual in the cordial atmosphere of the Senate", according to ''{{wipe|Reuters}}''.<ref name="Morgan&Cowan"/><ref name="Raju">Manu Raju, [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/ted-cruz-says-mitch-mcconnell-lies-export-import-bank-120583 Cruz accuses Mitch McConnell of telling a 'flat-out lie'], ''Politico'' (July 24, 2015).</ref> In the same speech, Cruz assailed the "Republican majority in both houses of Congresses" for what Cruz called an insufficiently conservative record.<ref name="Raju"/> Cruz's speech, and especially his accusation against McConnell, was condemned by various senior Republican senators, with McCain saying that the speech was "outside the realm of Senate behavior" and "a very wrong thing to do".<ref>Ted Barrett, [http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/26/politics/cruz-senate-mcconnell-lied/ Republicans rebuke Cruz over his charge McConnell lied], CNN (July 27, 2015).</ref> Orrin Hatch expressed a similar opinion: "I don't condone the use of that kind of language against another senator unless they can show definitive proof that there was a lie ... And I know the leader didn't lie."<ref>Rogers, Alex. [http://www.nationaljournal.com/s/71388/cruz-mcconnell-told-flat-out-lie-conservatives "Cruz: McConnell Told 'Flat-Out Lie' to Conservatives"], ''National Journal'' (July 24, 2015).</ref> Cruz alleged that McConnell scheduled a vote on the Ex-Im Bank as part of a deal to persuade Democrats like Maria Cantwell to stop blocking a trade bill; McConnell denied there was any "deal", and that denial was what Cruz called a "lie". Hatch said McConnell did pledge to help Cantwell get a vote on the Ex-Im Bank.<ref>DeBonis, Mike. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ted-cruz-to-gop-leader-you-lied/2015/07/24/6a967690-3225-11e5-97ae-30a30cca95d7_story.html "Ted Cruz to GOP leader: You lied"], ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'' (July 24, 2015).</ref>

Among Cruz's few close allies in the Senate is Mike Lee of Utah.<ref>Jonathan Capehart, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/07/29/how-mitch-mcconnell-went-gangsta-on-ted-cruz-and-mike-lee/ How Mitch McConnell went gangsta on Ted Cruz and Mike Lee], ''The Washington Post'' (July 29, 2015).</ref><ref>Manu Raju & Burgess Everett, [http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/senate-obamacare-repeal-ted-cruz-mike-lee-120637 Senate smackdown: Cruz, Lee efforts squelched: The rift between Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz widens], ''Politico'' (July 27, 2015).</ref> Cruz has expressed pride in his reputation for having few allies, saying in June 2015 that he has been vilified for fighting "the Washington cartel".<ref>Todd J. Gillman, [http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/national-politics/20150624-cruz-says-hes-vilified-for-fighting-the-washington-cartel.ece Cruz says he's vilified for fighting the 'Washington cartel'], ''Dallas Morning News'' (June 24, 2015).</ref>

When Boehner announced in September 2015 that he would step down and resign from the House, Cruz expressed his concern that before resigning Boehner might have "cut a deal with Nancy Pelosi to fund the Obama administration for the rest of its tenure".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Zurcher|first1=Anthony|title=John Boehner resigns and Ted Cruz gloats|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34355043|accessdate=October 17, 2015|publisher=BBC|date=September 25, 2015|ref=boehner_resigns}}</ref> The following month, the budget agreement passed in the House by a vote of 266 to 187, with unanimous support from Democrats and Boehner, lifting the debt ceiling through March 2017, and Cruz called the agreement "complete and utter surrender".<ref>Arkin, James.  [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/10/29/house_passes_budget_debt_ceiling_agreement_128586.html "House Passes Budget, Debt Ceiling Agreement"], Real Clear Politics (October 29, 2015).</ref>

Cruz is one of the Senate Republicans in favor of the "nuclear option", "to speed up consideration of President Trump's nominees". Changing the Senate's rules to a simple majority vote would "ensure a quicker pace on Trump's court picks".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bolton|first1=Alexander|title=GOP faces internal battle over changing Senate rules|url=http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/386233-gop-faces-internal-battle-over-changing-senate-rules|website=The Hill|accessdate=May 24, 2018}}</ref>

===2018 election===
Cruz ran for reelection to a second term in 2018.<ref name=cruzfiles>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/11/ted-cruz-files-to-run-for-reelection-in-2018/|title=Ted Cruz files to run for reelection to the Senate in 2018|work={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|last=Sullivan|first=Sean|date=May 11, 2016|accessdate=July 25, 2016}}</ref> The primary elections for both parties were held on March 6, 2018.<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas 2018 General Election|url=https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/TX|website=The Green Papers|accessdate=December 10, 2017}}</ref> He easily won the Republican nomination with over 80% of the vote. He faced the Democratic nominee, U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke, in the general election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/06/591162259/with-rising-voter-turnout-democrats-hope-to-turn-parts-of-texas-blue|title=Texas Primary: Democratic Votes Surge, But Republicans Recover Early Vote Deficit|publisher=NPR|date=March 6, 2018|first1=Jessica|last1=Taylor|last2=Seipel|first2=Arnie}}</ref> The contest was unusually competitive for an election in Texas, with most polls showing Cruz only slightly ahead of O'Rourke. The race received significant media attention<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/9/12/17841716/ted-cruz-beto-orourke-senate- |title=Ted Cruz's surprisingly competitive battle against Beto O'Rourke, explained |last=Golshan |first=Tara |date=September 12, 2018 |publisher=Vox |access-date=November 3, 2018}}</ref> and became the most expensive U.S. Senate election in history.<ref>{{cite news | last1=Wallace | first1=Jeremy | title=Cruz vs. O'Rourke is Most Expensive U.S. Senate Race in History | url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Cruz-vs-O-Rourke-is-most-expensive-U-S-Senate-13303745.php | date=October 12, 2018 | newspaper=Houston Chronicle | accessdate=November 17, 2018}}</ref>

On November 6, 2018, Cruz defeated O'Rourke by a margin of 50.9% to 48.3%.<ref name="TXSOS11072018">{{cite web|title=2018 General Election Election Night Returns|url=https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/nov06_331_state.htm|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=November 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115004347/https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/nov06_331_state.htm|archive-date=November 15, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==2016 presidential campaign==
[[File:Ted Cruz by Gage Skidmore 5.jpg|right|thumb|Cruz speaking at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland]]
As early as 2013, Cruz was widely expected to run for the presidency in 2016.<ref name="contender">{{cite news|last=Cillizza|first=Chris|date=September 13, 2013|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dont-underestimate-rand-paul-as-a-2016-presidential-contender/2013/09/15/1c2925c6-1e1c-11e3-94a2-6c66b668ea55_story.html|title=Rand Paul, 2016 Republican front-runner|newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|accessdate=September 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=September 25, 2013|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/09/ted-cruzs-first-2016-campaign-ad-almost-20-hours-long/69837/|title=Ted Cruz's First 2016 Campaign Ad Is Over 21 Hours Long|newspaper=The Atlantic Wire|accessdate=September 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Metzler|first=Rebekah|date=September 27, 2013|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/27/poll-ted-cruz-leads-2016-gop-field |title=Poll: Ted Cruz Leads 2016 GOP Field|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|accessdate=September 28, 2013}}</ref> On March 14, 2013, he gave the keynote speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington DC.<ref name=RomanoPolitico03142013>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/2016-rubio-paul-et-al-court-cpac-crowd-88884.html|title=CPAC 2013: Marco Rubio, Rand Paul fight for the future of the GOP|last=Romano|first=Lois| newspaper=Politico|date=March 14, 2013|accessdate=March 14, 2013}}</ref> He tied for 7th place in the 2013 CPAC straw poll on March 16, winning 4% of the votes cast.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rand Paul wins CPAC straw poll; Rubio close second|last=Montanaro|first= Domenico|url=http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/16/17341131-rand-paul-wins-cpac-straw-poll-rubio-close-second|publisher=NBC News|date=March 16, 2013|accessdate=July 21, 2013}}</ref> In October 2013, Cruz won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll with 42% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz Dominates Republican Straw Poll|author=Rayman, Noah|url=http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/13/ted-cruz-dominates-republican-straw-poll/|magazine=TIME|date=October 13, 2013|accessdate=January 23, 2014}}</ref> Cruz finished first in two presidential straw polls conducted in 2014 with 30.33% of the vote at the Republican Leadership Conference<ref>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz wins presidential straw poll at Republican Leadership Conference |last=Finnegan|first=Conor|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/31/cruz-convinced-gop-to-retake-congress-this-fall/|publisher=CNN|date=May 31, 2014|accessdate=July 1, 2014}}</ref> and 43% of the vote at the Republican Party of Texas state convention.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz wins Texas GOP's presidential straw poll, Rick Perry finishes distant fourth|last=Jeffers|first=Gromer|url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/06/texas-gops-presidential-straw-poll-votes-being-tallied.html/|newspaper=Dallas Morning News|date=June 7, 2014|accessdate=July 1, 2014}}</ref>

Cruz did speaking events in mid-2013 across Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, all early primary states, leading to speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a run for President in 2016.<ref name=KilloughCNN07212013>{{cite news|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/21/cruz-tries-to-sidestep-2016-question/|title=Cruz tries to sidestep 2016 question|last=Killough|first=Ashley|publisher=CNN|date=July 21, 2013|accessdate=July 21, 2013}}</ref> Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin described Cruz as the first potential presidential candidate to emphasize originalism as a major national issue.<ref name=JToobin/>

On April 12, 2014, Cruz spoke at the Freedom Summit, an event organized by Americans for Prosperity and Citizens United.<ref name="FreedomSummit">{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are the big draws at the Freedom Summit|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/12/cruz-and-paul-greeted-by-cheers-at-tea-partys-2016-warm-up/|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=April 16, 2014}}</ref> The event was attended by several potential presidential candidates.<ref>{{cite news|title=Freedom Summit draws GOP hopefuls to N.H.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/freedom-summit-draws-gop-hopefuls-to-nh/2014/04/12/8a5225f8-c262-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=April 16, 2014|first=Jaime|last=Fuller|date=April 12, 2014}}</ref> In his speech, Cruz mentioned that Latinos, young people and single mothers are the people most affected by the recession, and that the Republican Party should make outreach efforts to these constituents. He also said that the words "growth and opportunity" should be tattooed on the hands of every Republican politician.<ref name="FreedomSummit"/>

Cruz delivered one of many State of the Union responses in January 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Breitman|first1=Kendall|title=Ted Cruz flubs, deletes YouTube response to Obama|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/ted-cruz-response-youtube-state-union-114434|accessdate=March 7, 2018|work=POLITICO|date=January 21, 2015}}</ref>

On March 23, 2015, Cruz announced his 2016 presidential candidacy for the GOP primaries and caucuses, in a morning speech delivered at [[Organization:Liberty University|Liberty University]] in Lynchburg, Virginia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Transcript: Ted Cruz's Speech at Liberty University|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-ted-cruzs-speech-at-liberty-university/2015/03/23/41c4011a-d168-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html|accessdate=March 23, 2015|work={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|date=March 23, 2015}}</ref> Also, at the same hour, he posted on his Twitter page: "I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!"<ref>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz Announces Presidential Bid|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/ted-cruz-announce-presidential-bid-monday-n328051|accessdate=March 23, 2015|publisher=NBC News|date=March 23, 2015}}</ref> He was the first announced major Republican presidential candidate for the 2016 campaign.<ref name="HousChronSchleifer032120152">{{cite news |last=Schleifer|first=Theodore|date=March 21, 2015|title=Ted Cruz to announce presidential bid Monday|url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/us/article/Ted-Cruz-to-announce-presidential-bid-Monday-6150894.php|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|location=Houston, Texas|access-date=March 22, 2015|quote=Cruz will launch a presidential bid outright rather than form an exploratory committee, said senior advisers with direct knowledge of his plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made yet. They say he is done exploring and is now ready to become the first Republican presidential candidate.}}</ref><ref name="CorasanitiNYT03232015">{{cite news |last1=Corasaniti |first1=Nick |last2=Healy |first2=Patrick |date=March 23, 2015 |title=Ted Cruz Becomes First Major Candidate to Announce Presidential Bid for 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/politics/ted-cruz-2016-presidential-race.html|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}} |location=New York, New York |access-date=March 23, 2015 }}</ref> During the primary campaign, his base of support was mainly among social conservatives, though he had crossover appeal to other factions within his party, including in particular [[Philosophy:Libertarian conservatism|libertarian conservatives]].<ref name="ZitnerWSJ01042016">{{cite news |last=Zitner |first=Aaron |date=January 4, 2016 |title=Poll Points to Upside for Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio in GOP Race |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/poll-points-to-upside-for-ted-cruz-marco-rubio-in-gop-race-1451956770 |newspaper={{wipe|The Wall Street Journal}} |location=New York |access-date=February 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cato.org/blog/ted-cruz-speech-nods-increasing-libertarian-views-within-republican-party|title=Ted Cruz Speech Nods to Increasing Libertarian Views within Republican Party|publisher=Cato Institute|access-date=March 6, 2016}}</ref>

HarperCollins published Cruz's book ''A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America'' on June 30, 2015.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America: Ted Cruz: 9780062365613: Amazon.com: Books|isbn = 978-0062365613|last1 = Cruz|first1 = Ted|date = June 30, 2015}}</ref> The book reached the bestseller list of several organizations in its first week of release.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/07/amazon-no-evidence-of-bulk-sales-for-ted-cruz-book-210374.html|title=Amazon: 'No evidence' of bulk sales for Cruz book|last=Byers|first=Dylan|date=July 13, 2015|work=POLITICO}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-13/new-york-times-defends-ban-of-ted-cruz-s-book-from-bestseller-list|title=NYT&nbsp;Defends Exclusion of&nbsp;Ted Cruz's Book: 'We Are Confident'|date=July 13, 2015|work=Bloomberg.com/politics|first=Elizabeth|last=Titus}}</ref>

===Primary wins===
[[File:US Senator of Texas Ted Cruz at FITN in Nashua, NH 07.jpg|upright|thumb|Ted Cruz in Nashua, New Hampshire, on April 17, 2015]]
In the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Cruz received over 7.8 million votes,<ref name=greenpapers_convention>{{cite web |url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/R |title=Republican Convention |work=The Green Papers |first=Richard E. |last=Berg-Andersson |accessdate=July 6, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/republican_vote_count.html|title=RealClearPolitics - 2016 Republican Popular Vote|work=realclearpolitics.com|accessdate=October 1, 2016}}</ref> won 12 states, and earned 559 delegates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/2016-election/results/delegate-count-tracker|title=2016 Delegate Count Tracker: 2016 Election|work=politico.com|accessdate=October 1, 2016}}</ref> He raised nearly $92 million, a record for a GOP primary candidate, much of it from small online donors. The Cruz campaign had more than 325,000 volunteers.<ref name="GThrushPolitico07182016">{{cite news |last=Thrush |first=Glenn |date=July 18, 2016 |title=Ted Cruz contemplates the unthinkable |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/ted-talks-hes-not-ready-to-endorse-yet-225690 |newspaper=Politico |location=Washington, DC |access-date=July 18, 2016 |quote=The first-term senator won 8 million votes, 600 delegates and 12 states. He raised nearly $92 million — a record for a GOP primary candidate, much of it from small online donors. He ran by far the best ground operation of any GOP campaign this year, with more than 325,000 volunteers flocking to Cruz's call for a grass-roots Republican renewal.}}</ref>

On February 1, 2016, Cruz won the Iowa caucuses.<ref name=FOXLatino02012016/> The Iowa win made him the first Hispanic to win either a presidential primary election or caucus.<ref name=FOXLatino02012016>{{cite news |date=February 1, 2016 |title=Ted Cruz makes history, becomes first Hispanic to win Iowa caucus |url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2016/02/01/iowans-to-choose-trump-aggressiveness-cruz-conservatism-or-rubio-moderation/ |newspaper=FOX News Latino |location=New York |access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Borchers |first=Callum |date=February 3, 2016 |title=Ted Cruz is the first Latino to win a caucus or primary. Why isn't that a bigger deal? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/03/ted-cruz-is-the-first-latino-to-win-a-caucus-or-primary-why-isnt-that-a-bigger-deal/ |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |location=Washington, DC |access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref><ref name="CNN02012016">{{cite news |last=Collinson |first=Stephen |date=February 2, 2016 |title=Iowa caucus results: Ted Cruz wins, Hillary Clinton declares victory |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/01/politics/iowa-caucuses-2016-highlights/index.html |publisher=CNN |location=Atlanta, Georgia |access-date=February 6, 2016|quote=Cruz's victory sets him up as a formidable force in delegate-rich, Southern states to come and offers movement conservatives hope that one of their own can become the Republican nominee for the first time since Ronald Reagan.}}</ref> Cruz received 28% of the vote.<ref name="CNN02012016"/> On February 10, 2016, Cruz placed third in the New Hampshire primary, with about 12% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 10, 2016 |title=New Hampshire Republican Primary |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/republican/new-hampshire/ |publisher=CBS News |location=New York |access-date=February 10, 2016}}</ref> On February 21, 2016, he placed third in the South Carolina Republican primary with about 22.3% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mihalik |first=Lily |date=February 20, 2016 |title=Live results from the 2016 South Carolina GOP primary |url=http://graphics.latimes.com/election-2016-south-carolina-results/ |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=February 21, 2016 }}</ref>

On March 1, 2016, Super Tuesday primary day, Cruz won Texas by 17%, along with Alaska and Oklahoma, providing him with four state primary victories total.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/clinton-sanders-trump-score-early-wins-super-tuesday-n529496|title=Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton Score Big Super Tuesday Primary Wins|first=Andrew|last=Rafferty|date=March 2, 2016|publisher=NBC News}}</ref> In the Texas primary, Cruz received the most votes in all but six of the state's 254 counties.<ref>{{cite news |last=McCullough |first=Jolie |date=March 2, 2016 |title=Cruz, Clinton Grab Most Votes in Almost Every Texas County |url=http://www.texastribune.org/2016/03/02/cruz-clinton-grab-most-votes-almost-every-county/ |newspaper=Texas Tribune |location=Austin, Texas |access-date=March 2, 2016|quote=With 100% of precincts reporting, Cruz, came away with 1,239,158 votes, or 43.8% of the total. Donald Trump followed behind with 757,489 votes, or 26.7% of the vote. Cruz, one of the state's two U.S. senators, got the most votes in all but six of the state's 254 counties.}}</ref> On March 5, 2016, Cruz won the Kansas and Maine caucuses, giving him six statewide wins.<ref>[http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article64216282.html Cruz Easily Wins Kansas Republican Caucuses], Kansas City Star, March 5, 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Jonathan |date=March 5, 2016 |title=Ted Cruz Wins Kansas Caucuses as 5 States Vote on 'Super Saturday' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/us/politics/primary-elections.html|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}} |location=New York |access-date=March 5, 2016|quote=Senator Ted Cruz scored a hard-fought and decisive win in the Kansas caucuses on Saturday, demonstrating his enduring appeal among conservatives as he tries to reel in Donald J. Trump's significant lead in the Republican presidential race.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Svitek |first=Patrick |date=March 5, 2016 |title=Cruz Goes Two for Four, Wins Kansas, Maine |url=http://www.texastribune.org/2016/03/05/cruz-wins-kansas-caucuses-other-states-pending/ |newspaper=Texas Tribune |location=Austin, Texas |access-date=March 6, 2016}}</ref>

Cruz won his widest margin up to that point in Kansas, where he beat frontrunner Donald Trump by 25 points.<ref>Levine, Sam. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kansas-republican-caucus-results-ted-cruz_us_56d7682ee4b0000de4035121 Ted Cruz Crushes At Kansas Republican Caucus], ''The Huffington Post'', March 5, 2016.</ref> With his victories over Trump in Texas, Kansas, and Maine, Cruz established himself as the candidate with the best opportunity to defeat Trump, the leading contender for the nomination.<ref>Easley, Jonathan. [http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/271951-cruz-on-trumps-heels-after-super-saturday-victories Cruz on Trump's heels after victories on Super Saturday], The Hill, March 6, 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 7, 2016 |title=Some see Cruz as best alternative to Trump |url=http://www.mohavedailynews.com/news/some-see-cruz-as-best-alternative-to-trump/article_4c269670-e438-11e5-92af-27212287f416.html |newspaper= Mohave Valley Daily News |location=Bullhead City, Arizona |access-date=March 7, 2016}}</ref>

On March 8, 2016, Cruz won the Idaho primary with 45% of vote—defeating Trump by 17% and earning his seventh statewide victory.<ref name=PSvitekTXTrib03082016Idaho>{{cite news |last=Svitek |first=Patrick |date=March 8, 2016 |title=Ted Cruz Wins Idaho, Places Second in Three Other States |url=http://www.texastribune.org/2016/03/08/cruz-fights-2nd-mich-set-runner-miss/ |newspaper=Texas Tribune |location=Austin, Texas |access-date=March 9, 2016|quote=U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday night won the Idaho GOP presidential primary while placing second in three other states, continuing to demonstrate viability against frontrunner Donald Trump.}}</ref> He placed second in Michigan, Mississippi, and Hawaii.<ref name=PSvitekTXTrib03082016Idaho/> On March 12, 2016, Cruz won the Wyoming county conventions with 67% of the vote and 9 delegates, giving him his eighth statewide win.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 13, 2016 |title=Cruz crushes Trump in Wyoming Republican caucus |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/773219/cruz-crushes-trump-in-wyoming-republican-caucus |access-date=March 13, 2016|quote=With all votes counted, Texas Senator Cruz won 66.3 percent of the ballots in the western state, far ahead of his nearest rival, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who earned 19.5 percent of the vote.}}</ref>

On March 22, 2016, Cruz won the Utah Caucus with 69.2% of the vote, versus John Kasich with 16.8% and Donald Trump with 14%.<ref>[http://graphics.latimes.com/election-2016-utah-results/ Results from the Utah caucuses], ''{{wipe|Los Angeles Times}}'', March 22, 2016.</ref> Because Cruz surpassed the 50% winner-take-all threshold, he won all 40 of Utah's delegates. This win was his ninth. On April 3, 2016, North Dakota elected a slate of delegates that was dominated by pro-Cruz delegates. Cruz received the support of the majority of the delegates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/ND-R|title=North Dakota Republican Delegation 2016|work=thegreenpapers.com|accessdate=October 1, 2016}}</ref>

On April 6, 2016, Cruz won the Wisconsin primary with 48.2% of the vote, with Trump receiving 35.1%. It was Cruz's tenth statewide win. Cruz won 36 of the possible 42 delegates available in Wisconsin. Trump received the other 6 delegates. On April 2 and 7–9, 2016, Cruz swept the Colorado congressional district and state conventions taking all 34 delegates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/colorado-loss-reveals-chaotic-overwhelmed-trump-campaign-n552781|title=Colorado Loss Reveals Chaotic, Overwhelmed Trump Campaign|last=Sarlin|first=Benjy|work=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2016/04/02/ted-cruz-wins-colorado-delegates-donald-trump/125427/|title=Ted Cruz wins first 6 Colorado delegates, Donald Trump shut out|work=The Spot}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/us/politics/ted-cruz-wins-majority-of-delegates-in-colorado.html|title=Ted Cruz Wins Majority of Delegates in Colorado|date=April 9, 2016|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denverpost.com/election/ci_29746409/ted-cruz-controls-state-gop-convention-fiery-stump-speech|title=Ted Cruz dominates Colorado GOP convention winning all 34 delegates|author=John Frank and Joey Bunch The Denver Post|date=April 9, 2016|publisher=}}</ref> This gave Cruz his eleventh state win. On April 16, 2016, Cruz won all 14 of Wyoming's at-large delegates in the state convention. This secured the majority of state delegates giving Cruz his twelfth state win.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_2016_WYOMING_WYOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205062223/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_2016_WYOMING_WYOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-02-05|title=News from The Associated Press}}</ref> On April 27, 2016, Cruz announced that, if he were selected as the party's nominee, he would choose former CEO of [[Company:Hewlett-Packard|HP]] and fellow 2016 Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/04/27/sources-cruz-to-announce-fiorina-as-choice-for-running-mate.html|title=Cruz announces Fiorina as choice for running mate|publisher=Fox News|accessdate=June 6, 2016}}</ref> Shortly after losing overwhelmingly to Trump in the Indiana primary on May 3, 2016, Cruz officially announced his decision to suspend his campaign.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/04/us/politics/ted-cruz.html|title=Ted Cruz Ends His Campaign for President|last=Flegenheimer|first=Matt|date=May 3, 2016|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}}|access-date=May 3, 2016}}</ref>

===Citizenship===
Cruz has stated that when he was a child, his mother told him that she would have to make an affirmative act to claim Canadian citizenship for him, so his family assumed that he did not hold Canadian citizenship.<ref name="DMNGillman06102014"/> In August 2013, after the ''Dallas Morning News'' pointed out that Cruz had dual Canadian-American citizenship,<ref name="GillmasDallasMN12282013">{{cite news|last=Gillman|first=Todd|date=December 28, 2013|title=Ted Cruz says he's hired lawyers to renounce Canadian citizenship|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20131228-ted-cruz-says-hes-hired-lawyers-to-renounce-canadian-citizenship.ece|newspaper=Dallas Morning News|location=Dallas, Texas|publisher=[[Company:A. H. Belo|A. H. Belo]]|accessdate=December 30, 2013|quote=But the strong legal consensus is that with even one American parent—a circumstance shared by Obama and Cruz—a child born anywhere qualifies as a "natural born American," entitled to citizenship at birth and therefore eligible to serve as president.}}</ref><ref name=LeeWaPo>{{cite news|last1=Michelle Ye Hee|first1=Lee|title=Cruz says it's 'clear and straightforward' that he's a natural-born U.S. citizen|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/10/cruz-says-its-clear-and-straightforward-that-hes-a-natural-born-u-s-citizen/|accessdate=January 10, 2016|work=The Washington Post|date=January 10, 2015}}</ref> he applied to formally renounce his Canadian citizenship and ceased being a citizen of Canada on May 14, 2014.<ref name="DMNGillman06102014">{{cite news|last=Gillman|first=Todd|date=June 10, 2014|title=No, Canada: Sen. Ted Cruz has formally shed his dual citizenship|url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/06/no-canada-sen-ted-cruz-has-formally-shed-his-dual-citizenship.html/ |newspaper=Dallas Morning News|location=Dallas, Texas|publisher=[[Company:A. H. Belo|A. H. Belo]]|accessdate=June 10, 2014|quote=Alberta-born Sen. Ted Cruz has given up his Canadian dual citizenship. The renunciation became official on May 14, roughly 9 months after he learned he wasn't only an American.}}</ref><ref name=AaronWashPost08192013>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/19/cruz-will-renounce-canadian-citizenship/|title=Cruz Will Renounce Canadian Citizenship|last=Blake|first=Aaron|date=August 19, 2013|work={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|accessdate=August 20, 2013}}</ref>

Several lawsuits and ballot challenges asserting that Cruz is ineligible to become U.S. president have been filed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.unionleader.com/Primary_Ballot_Commission_upholds_candidates|title=BLC upholds Sanders, Trump on primary ballots|first=Dan|last=Tuohy|date=November 24, 2015|work=Union Leader}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Blaisdell|first=Eric|date=January 1, 2016|title=Vermonter tries to keep names off presidential ballot|url=http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160101/NEWS03/160109989|work=Rutland Herald|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219082825/http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160101/NEWS03/160109989|archivedate=February 19, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/rubio-seeks-to-dismiss-court-challenge-to-his-eligibility-to-be-president/2261269|title=Marco Rubio seeks to dismiss court challenge to his eligibility to be president|last=Leary|first=Alex|date=January 14, 2016|work=Tampa Bay Times|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219092734/http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/rubio-seeks-to-dismiss-court-challenge-to-his-eligibility-to-be-president/2261269|archivedate=February 19, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://fox13now.com/2016/01/26/a-utah-man-is-suing-ted-cruz-claiming-hes-not-a-natural-born-citizen/|title=Utah man suing Ted Cruz claiming he's not a natural-born citizen|author=Ben Winslow and Max Roth|date=January 26, 2016|publisher=KSTU}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/is_ted_cruz_eligible_for_potus.html|title=Alabama residents' lawsuit claims Ted Cruz ineligible to run for president|first=Howard|last=Koplowitz|date=February 5, 2016|work=The Birmingham News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.arkansasmatters.com/news/local-news/lawsuit-remove-cruz-and-rubio-from-ark-ballot|title=Lawsuit: Remove Cruz and Rubio from Ark. Ballot|first=Curt|last=Lanning|date=February 8, 2016|publisher=KARK-TV}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Cruz's 'Natural-Born Citizen' Status Tested in Birther Suit|first1=Laurel Brubaker|last1=Calkins|first2=Kevin|last2=Cirilli|newspaper=Bloomberg Business|date=January 14, 2016|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-15/cruz-s-natural-born-citizen-status-challenged-in-birther-suit|accessdate=February 17, 2016}}</ref> No lawsuit or challenge has been successful, and in February 2016, the Illinois Board of Elections ruled in Cruz's favor, stating, "The candidate is a natural born citizen by virtue of being born in Canada to his mother who was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth."<ref>{{cite news |last=Merda |first=Chad |date=February 3, 2016 |title=Illinois election board: Ted Cruz is a natural-born citizen |url=http://national.suntimes.com/national-world-news/7/72/2541002/ted-cruz-illinois-natural-born-citizen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204093102/http://national.suntimes.com/national-world-news/7/72/2541002/ted-cruz-illinois-natural-born-citizen/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2016 |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |location=Chicago, Illinois |access-date=February 4, 2016 |quote="The candidate is a natural born citizen by virtue of being born in Canada to his mother who was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth," the board said. It pointed out that Cruz "did not have to take any steps to go through a naturalization process at some point after birth" and therefore "further discussion on this issue is unnecessary." }}</ref>

===After candidacy===
Shortly after the campaign's end, Cruz indicated that he would be interested in restarting the bid if he were successful in the Nebraska primary,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/279354-cruz-floats-restarting-campaign-if-he-wins-nebraska|title=Cruz floats restarting campaign if he wins Nebraska primary|date=May 10, 2016|first=Ben|last=Kamisar|publisher=thehill.com}}</ref> which Trump instead won.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/10/nebraska-west-virginia-primaries-donald-trump|title=Donald Trump wins West Virginia and Nebraska primaries|first=Ben|last=Jacobs|work={{wipe|The Guardian}}|publisher=Guardian News and Media|date=May 10, 2016|accessdate=July 27, 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Ted Cruz 2016 RNC (2).jpg|thumb|200px|right|Cruz at the 2016 Republican National Convention, July 20, 2016]]
In the months following, several publications noted that Cruz still had not endorsed Trump,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.westernjournalism.com/cruz-coy-on-trump-endorsement-but-plans-strong-convention-role/|title=Cruz Coy On Trump Endorsement But Plans Strong Convention Role|date=June 9, 2016|first=Jack|last=Davis|publisher=Western Journalism|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715101924/http://www.westernjournalism.com/cruz-coy-on-trump-endorsement-but-plans-strong-convention-role/|archivedate=July 15, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/279460-ted-cruz-stalls-on-endorsing-trump|title=Ted Cruz stalls on endorsing Trump|date=May 10, 2016|first=Alexander|last=Bolton|newspaper=The Hill}}</ref> Cruz explaining in June that he was "watching and assessing" to determine if he would support him in the forthcoming general election.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/has-ted-cruz-endorsed-donald-trump-224019|date=June 7, 2016|work=Politico|title=Cruz: I'm not ready to endorse Trump}}</ref> On July 7, after a meeting with Trump, Cruz confirmed that he would be speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/07/politics/donald-trump-meets-with-ted-cruz-reince-priebus/|title=Ted Cruz to speak at RNC following Trump meeting|date=July 7, 2016|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

In his speech on July 20, the third day of the convention, Cruz congratulated Trump but did not endorse him. He instead told listeners to "vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution". The speech was met with boos and a negative reception among the crowd.<ref name="HealyMartin">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/us/politics/ted-cruz-donald-trump-mike-pence-rnc.html|title=Ted Cruz Is Booed When He Refuses to Back Donald Trump at Convention|last1=Healy|first1=Patrick|last2=Martin|first2=Jonathan|work=The New York Times|date=July 20, 2016}}</ref> The following day at the Texas Republican delegation breakfast, Cruz defended his choice to not endorse Trump: "I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. That pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I'm going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say, 'Thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father.'"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/20/politics/ted-cruz-republican-convention-moment/index.html|title=Defiant Ted Cruz stands by refusal to endorse Trump after being booed during convention speech|date=July 21, 2016|publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Phelphs |first=Jordyn |date=July 21, 2016 |title=Ted Cruz 'Not in the Habit' of Endorsing People Who Attack His Family |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ted-cruz-defends-endorsing-donald-trump-rnc-speech/story?id=40765519 |newspaper=ABC News |location={{wipe|New York City}}, New York |access-date=July 21, 2016|quote=Further defending his RNC speech, in which declined to endorse the party's nominee, Ted Cruz said Trump knew the contents of his speech before its delivery, including the absence of an endorsement. "He didn't ask me to endorse, and indeed, three days ago I talked on the phone with him and told him, 'I'm not going to endorse you,'" Cruz said.}}</ref> Two months later, on September 23, 2016, Cruz publicly endorsed Trump for president.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/23/politics/ted-cruz-endorses-donald-trump/|title=Ted Cruz endorses Donald Trump|last1=Theodore Schleifer|first1=Theodore|last2=Borger|first2=Gloria|last3=Bash|first3=Dana|date=September 23, 2016|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

On October 10, following the 2005 audio recording of Trump being released and several Republicans retracting their endorsements, Cruz reaffirmed his support, citing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as being "manifestly unfit to be President".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ted-cruz-refuses-rescind-donald-trump-endorsement-article-1.2826026|title=Ted Cruz refuses to rescind Donald Trump endorsement over 'locker room talk'|date=October 10, 2016|newspaper=New York Daily News}}</ref> On November 15, Cruz met with President-elect Trump at the Trump Tower in {{wipe|New York City}}. It had been reported that Trump was considering Cruz for the position of U.S. Attorney General, but the position ultimately went to Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Jennifer |date=November 15, 2016 |title=Ted Cruz Considered by Trump for Attorney General |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-16/ted-cruz-said-to-be-considered-by-trump-for-attorney-general |newspaper=[[Company:Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] |location={{wipe|New York City}} |access-date=November 16, 2016 |quote=President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating Texas Senator Ted Cruz to serve as U.S. attorney general, according to a person familiar with the matter. Cruz, 45, was at Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday.}}</ref> On November 28, in light of Trump showing a softer tone on his campaign promises, Cruz warned that justified backlash could ensue if he strayed from them.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/news/2016/11/28/cruz-talks-gop-herman-plans-texas-christmastime-d-fw-monday-morning-news-roundup|title=Cruz talks GOP promises|newspaper=Dallas News|first=Nicholas|last=Friedman|date=November 28, 2016}}</ref>

Cruz has been backed by the billionaire Mercer family, including Robert and his daughter Rebekah.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/why-won-t-steve-bannon-go-after-ted-cruz-1069166147590 |title=Why won't Steve Bannon go after Ted Cruz? |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=October 10, 2017 |website=NBCNews.com |access-date=October 26, 2017 |quote=Robert Mercer, the reclusive conspiracy-minded billionaire who spent millions to help both men - and who is closely tied to Donald Trump and the [[Religion:Alt-right|alt-right]].}}</ref>

==Political positions==

===Communism===
Cruz is a critic of the rapprochement between Communist Cuba and the United States, saying on Fox News in December 2014 that the thaw in relations was a "manifestation of the failures of the Obama-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy" that "will be remembered as a tragic mistake".<ref>Brendan Bordelon, [http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/410295/ted-cruz-cuba-relations-thaw-tragic-mistake-brendan-bordelon Ted Cruz: Cuba Relations Thaw 'a Tragic Mistake'], ''National Review'' (December 14, 2015).</ref>

In July 2018, Cruz spoke at the Rally for Religious Freedom in Asia. Cruz said, "'It is a pleasure to be here and stand in solidarity for the men and women across this globe who have been persecuted by communists... We must stand united, in shining light, in highlighting heroism, in highlighting courage, in speaking out for those like my family, like so many millions across the globe who've seen the jackboot of communism firsthand.'"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/news/398488-cruz-joins-rally-for-religious-freedom|title=Cruz joins rally for religious freedom|first=Meghashyam|last=Mali|date=July 23, 2018|website=TheHill|accessdate=March 26, 2019}}</ref>

===Crime, guns, and drug policy===
[[File:Brett Kavanaugh and Ted Cruz.jpg|thumb|Ted Cruz and Judge Brett Kavanaugh in July 2018]]
Cruz has called for an end to "overcriminalization, harsh mandatory minimum sentences, and the demise of jury trials".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Campbell|first1=Colin|title=How Republican presidential candidates want to reform the criminal justice system|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/how-2016-candidates-want-to-reform-criminal-justice-2015-4|accessdate=March 30, 2016|website=Business Insider|date=April 28, 2015}}</ref> He supports the death penalty.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Jason|title=As Supreme Court Clerk, Ted Cruz Made Death Penalty His Cause|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/us/politics/as-supreme-court-clerk-ted-cruz-made-death-penalty-his-cause.html|accessdate=May 10, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 20, 2016}}</ref> In his 2012 Senate campaign, Cruz frequently mentioned his role as counsel for the State of Texas in ''Medellín v. Texas'', a 2008 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that Texas has the legal right to ignore an order from the International Court of Justice directing the U.S. to review the convictions and sentences of dozens of Mexican nationals on death row.<ref name="Bathe">Aman Bathe, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/us/politics/a-history-for-senate-candidate-ted-cruz-and-supreme-court.html?_r=0 Senate Candidate and Supreme Court Have a History], ''Texas Tribune'' (July 22, 2012).</ref> Cruz has referred to ''Medellín'' as the most important case of his tenure as Texas solicitor general.<ref name="Bathe"/>

Cruz is a [[Social:Right to keep and bear arms|gun-rights]] supporter,<ref name=HotAir04292013>{{cite news|title= Ted Cruz: My GOP Senate colleagues yelled at me for wanting to filibuster gun control|url= http://hotair.com/archives/2013/04/29/ted-cruz-my-gop-senate-colleagues-yelled-at-me-for-wanting-to-filibuster-gun-control/|newspaper=Hot Air|date=April 29, 2013|accessdate=August 17, 2013}}</ref> and opposes expanding [[Engineering:Gun control|gun control]] regulations.<ref>Glover, Scott and Reston, Maeve (March 10, 2016). [https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/10/politics/ted-cruz-guns/index.html Ted Cruz's no-compromise stance on guns.] ''CNN.'' Retrieved: February 8, 2019.</ref>

In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt discussing the attack that killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Cruz said that "the simple and undeniable fact is the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats", and that the reason Democrats are soft on crime, is that convicted felons tend to vote Democratic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/ted-cruz-planned-parenthood-democrats-crime-216288|work=Politico|accessdate=December 1, 2015}}</ref>

In August 2015, in the wake of the ambush death of a Texas police officer who was gunned down while filling up at a gas station, Cruz said that police are "feeling the assault from the President, from the top on down, as we see – whether it's in Ferguson or Baltimore, the response from senior officials, the President or the Attorney General, is to vilify law enforcement. That's wrong. It's fundamentally wrong. It's endangering all of our safety and security."<ref>Matt Levin, [http://www.chron.com/news/politics/tedcruz/article/Ted-Cruz-blames-Obama-for-death-of-Harris-County-6476309.php Ted Cruz blames Obama for death of Harris County sheriff's deputy], ''Houston Chronicle'' (August 31, 2015).</ref>

Cruz opposes the legalization of marijuana, but believes it should be decided at the state level.<ref>Sullum, Jacob. March 5, 2015. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2015/03/05/by-supporting-marijuana-federalism-republican-candidates-can-be-principled-and-popular/ Ted Cruz's Cannabis Conversion Reflects The Political Prudence Of Marijuana Federalism]. ''Forbes''. Retrieved March 22, 2015.</ref> Following the legalization of marijuana in Colorado he stated that, "If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that's their prerogative. I personally don't agree with it, but that's their right."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marijuana.heraldtribune.com/2015/03/06/ted-cruzs-cannabis-conversion/|title=Cannabis convert: Ted Cruz|date=March 6, 2015|work=heraldtribune.com|accessdate=October 1, 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Transition Authorization Act Signing (NHQ201703210002).jpg|thumb|Cruz and President Donald Trump, after signing the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017]]

===Economy===
Cruz has been described by the [[Organization:Cato Institute|Cato Institute]]'s Center for Trade Policy Studies as a "free trader"<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Organization:Cato Institute|Cato Institute]]|url=http://www.cato.org/research/trade-immigration/congress?senator=192|title=Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the Congress|accessdate=September 7, 2015}}</ref> and as a "free-trade advocate" by ''The Wall Street Journal''.<ref name="Hook">Janet Hook, [https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/06/23/ted-cruz-flips-on-trade-bill-on-eve-of-key-senate-vote/ Ted Cruz Flips on Trade Bill on Eve of Key Senate Vote], ''The Wall Street Journal'' (June 23, 2015).</ref> In 2013, Cruz proposed the abolition of the [[Finance:Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] and the implementation of a flat tax "where the average American can fill out taxes on a postcard".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Weiner|first1=Rachel|title=Ted Cruz: 'Abolish the IRS'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/03/ted-cruz-abolish-the-irs/|work=The Washington Post|date=June 3, 2013}}</ref> Cruz is "adamantly opposed to a higher minimum wage".<ref name="HarrisonTaxes">J.D. Harrison, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2015/03/23/what-a-ted-cruz-white-house-could-mean-for-businesses/ What a Ted Cruz White House could mean for businesses], ''The Washington Post'' (March 23, 2015).</ref>

Cruz wants to decrease the size of the government significantly. In addition to eliminating the IRS as described above, he has promised to eliminate four other cabinet-level agencies. Cruz proposes to eliminate the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, Department of Commerce, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/10/heres-the-agency-ted-cruz-forgot-he-wants-to-abolish/|title=Ted Cruz forgot to mention he wants to get rid of this really big part of the government|last=Ehrenfreund|first=Max|date=November 10, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|access-date=March 6, 2016}}</ref>

===Education===
Cruz is a proponent of [[Finance:School choice|school choice]]<ref>{{cite news |last=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/ted-cruz-2016-second-amendment-gun-rights-117133.html |first=Keli |date=January 30, 2015 |title=The Issue Bringing Ted Cruz and Black Democrats Together |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/30/the-issue-bringing-ted-cruz-and-black-democrats-together.html |newspaper=The Daily Beast |access-date=April 23, 2015 }}</ref> and opposes the Common Core State Standards Initiative.<ref>Weigel, David, [https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-03-19/what-ted-cruz-talks-about-when-he-talks-about-common-core What Ted Cruz Talks About When He Talks About Common Core], Bloomberg. (March 19, 2015).</ref>

===Energy and environment===
Cruz rejects the [[Earth:Scientific opinion on climate change|scientific consensus on climate change]].<ref>Josh Hicks, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/01/21/climate-change-skeptics-cruz-and-rubio-now-help-oversee-nations-climate-science/ Climate-change skeptics Cruz and Rubio now help oversee nation's climate science], ''The Washington Post'' (January 21, 2015).</ref><ref name="auto">Sabrina Siddiqui, [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/27/ted-cruz-climate-change-republicans-2016 Ted Cruz embodies Republican climate change dilemma], ''The Guardian'' (March 27, 2015)</ref> He has said that "the scientific evidence doesn't support global warming".<ref name="MornEdNPR12112015">{{cite interview |last=Cruz |first=Ted |interviewer=Steve Inskeep |title=Scientific Evidence Doesn't Support Global Warming, Sen. Ted Cruz Says |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/12/09/459026242/scientific-evidence-doesn-t-support-global-warming-sen-ted-cruz-says |publisher=NPR, Inc. |location=Washington, DC |date=December 11, 2015 |work=Morning Edition |access-date=January 27, 2016|quote=The scientific evidence doesn't support global warming. For the last 18 years, the satellite data – we have satellites that monitor the atmosphere. The satellites that actually measure the temperature showed no significant warming whatsoever.}}</ref> He has also stated: "They call anyone who questions the science who even points to the satellite data – they call you a, quote, 'denier'. Denier is not the language of science. Denier is the language of religion. It is heretic. You are a blasphemer. It's treated as a theology. But it's about power and money. At the end of the day, it's not complicated. This is liberal politicians who want government power."<ref name="MornEdNPR12112015"/> In March 2015, he said that some people are "global warming alarmists" and, citing [[Physics:Satellite temperature measurements|satellite temperature measurements]], said that there had been no significant warming in 18 years.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="MornEdNPR12112015"/><ref>Philip Bump, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/03/25/ted-cruz-compares-climate-change-activists-to-flat-earthers-where-to-begin Ted Cruz compares climate change activists to 'flat-Earthers.' Where to begin?], ''The Washington Post'' (March 23, 2015)</ref>

Cruz voted against the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 that would have created the National Endowment for the Oceans and authorized more than $26 billion in projects to be built by the Army Corps of Engineers, at least $16 billion of which would have come from federal taxpayers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Ryan |date=May 21, 2014 |title=Infrastructure Bills to Nowhere |url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2014/05/21/highway-and-water-resources-bills-are-a-bad-bet-for-taxpayers |newspaper=U.S. News & World Report |location=[[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]] |access-date=April 1, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Ted_Cruz_Environment.htm |title=Ted Cruz on Environment |publisher=Ontheissues.org |accessdate=July 17, 2015}}</ref> Cruz voted against the bill because it neglected "to reduce a substantial backlog of projects, to the detriment of projects with national implications, such as the Sabine–Neches Waterway".<ref name="PRCruzWRDA05152013">{{cite news |date=May 15, 2013 |title=Cornyn, Cruz Vote to Fix Water Resource and Development Act |url=https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=134 |newspaper=cruz.senate.gov |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=April 1, 2015 }}</ref> Cruz stated that the Corps' responsibilities were expanded without providing adequate measures for state participation.<ref name="PRCruzWRDA05152013"/> Proponents of the bill argued that it would provide steady funding to support research and restoration projects, funded primarily by dedicating 12.5% of revenues from offshore energy development, including oil, gas, and renewable energy, through offshore lease sales and production based royalty payments, distributed through a competitive grant program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Ted_Cruz_Environment.htm|title=Ted Cruz on Environment|publisher=}}</ref>

In 2017, Cruz was one of 22 senators to sign a letter<ref>{{cite web|last1=Inhofe|first1=James|title=Senator|url=https://www.inhofe.senate.gov/download/?id=E1E34574-5655-42AA-92E8-0D23DC8C33BA&download=1|accessdate=June 7, 2017}}</ref> to President Donald Trump urging the President to have the United States withdraw from the Paris Agreement. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Cruz has received more than $2.5 million in campaign contributions from oil, gas and coal interests since 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/01/republican-senators-paris-climate-deal-energy-donations|accessdate=June 1, 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|date=June 1, 2017|title=The Republicans who urged Trump to pull out of Paris deal are big oil darlings}}</ref> Cruz has a lifetime score of 3% on the National Environmental Scorecard of the League of Conservation Voters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/ted-cruz |title=Senator Ted Cruz |work=National Environmental Scorecard |publisher=League of Conservation Voters |accessdate=September 19, 2017}}</ref>

Cruz is a supporter of [[Company:TransCanada Corporation|TransCanada]]'s Keystone XL Pipeline,<ref name="Cornwell">Susan Cornwell, [https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/10/us-usa-republicans-cruz-idUSBREA1921720140210 U.S. Senator Cruz urges broad Republican focus on energy], Reuters (February 10, 2014).</ref> and along with every other Republican senator was a cosponsor of legislation in support of the pipeline.<ref>Marianna Sotomayor & Alison Thoet, [http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/229632-whip-list-senate-keystone-vote Whip List: How senators will vote on Keystone XL pipeline], ''The Hill'' (January 29, 2015).</ref>

===Federal Reserve===
In a 2014 opinion editorial in ''[[Software:USA Today|USA Today]]'', Cruz wrote that auditing the [[Finance:Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve System]] was a top Republican priority in 2015 and that he supported legislation that would allow the [[Engineering:Government Accountability Office|Government Accountability Office]] to evaluate the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Federal Reserve chairwoman [[Biography:Janet Yellen|Janet Yellen]], whose confirmation Cruz had tried to prevent, said in her confirmation hearing that she opposed any audit of the Federal Reserve and that "For 50 years Congress has recognized that there should be an exception to GAO ability to audit the Fed to avoid any political interference in monetary policy."<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/2014/10/29/news/economy/federal-reserve-audit-ted-cruz/index.html|title=Can Senator Ted Cruz audit the Fed?|last=Gillespie|first=Patrick|work=CNNMoney|access-date=January 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/01/28/rand-paul-and-ted-cruz-join-forces-against-the-fed/|title=Rand Paul and Ted Cruz Join Forces Against the Fed|last=Rappeport|first=Alan|date=2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 24, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Foreign affairs===
[[File:Embassy Dedication Ceremony (41431882324).jpg|thumb|Cruz attended the opening of the US Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May 2018]]
In 2015, Cruz voted in favor of the USA Freedom Act, which reauthorized the USA Patriot Act but reformed some of its provisions.<ref name="MorningConsult">Eitan Arom, [http://morningconsult.com/2015/06/voter-views-on-usa-freedom-act-bode-well-for-graham-and-rubio-not-cruz-and-paul/ Voter Views on USA Freedom Act Bode Well for Graham and Rubio, Not Cruz and Paul], Morning Consult (June 10, 2015).</ref><ref name="KilloughNSA">Ashley Killough, [http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/02/politics/election-2016-ted-cruz-rand-paul-nsa-vote/ Ted Cruz knocks Rand Paul on NSA vote], CNN (April 2, 2015).</ref>

Cruz has been an adamant opponent of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 international nuclear agreement with [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] negotiated by the U.S. and other world powers, calling it "catastrophic" and "disastrous".<ref name="Hattem">Julian Hattem & Kristina Wong, [http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/252134-trump-cruz-to-hold-joint-anti-iran-rally-on-capitol-hill Trump, Cruz to hold joint anti-Iran rally on Capitol Hill], ''The Hill'' (August 27, 2015).</ref><ref name="GrimSchulberg">Ryan Grim & Jessica Schulberg, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/05/ted-cruz-iran-war_n_7216698.html Ted Cruz On Iran Nuclear Negotiations: 'This Deal Makes War a Certainty'], ''The Huffington Post'' (May 5, 2015).</ref>

In 2013, Cruz stated that America had no "dog in the fight" during the Syrian Civil War and stated that America's armed forces should not serve as "[[Religion:Al-Qaeda|al-Qaeda]]'s air force".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21585011-president-makes-case-pulling-trigger-bomb-or-not-bomb|title=America and Syria: To bomb, or not to bomb?|work=The Economist|date=September 7, 2013|accessdate=April 28, 2014}}</ref> In 2014, Cruz criticized the Obama administration: "The president's foreign policy team utterly missed the threat of ISIS, indeed, was working to arm Syrian rebels that were fighting side by side with ISIS", calling ISIS "the face of evil". In a statement opposing US intervention for regime change in Syria, Cruz said, "If President Obama and Hillary Clinton and Sen. Rubio succeed in toppling [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, the result will be the radical Islamic terrorists will take over Syria, that Syria will be controlled by ISIS, and that is materially worse for U.S. national security interests."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/222e03b4b7c241bb9743f5d4cc57d0f1/ap-conversation-cruzs-ambitious-foreign-policy-has-limits|title=AP Conversation: Cruz: US more secure with Assad in power|website=The Big Story|language=en-US|access-date=March 6, 2016}}</ref>

In September 2016, Cruz backed the Obama administration's plan to sell more than $1.15 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia.<ref>"[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_114_2.htm Roll Call Votes 114th Congress - 2nd Session (2016) – 145 (71-27)]". United States Senate.</ref>

In early January 2017, Cruz, along with Texas governor Greg Abbott and some others met with the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen. Cruz criticized the {{wipe|China}} after it reportedly made a statement asking members of Congress not to meet with Tsai.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cruz Meets with Taiwanese President, Blasts China | url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/08/cruz-meets-with-taiwanese-president-blasts-china.html | date=January 8, 2017 | publisher=Fox News | accessdate=January 14, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Ted Cruz, Texas Governor Meet with Taiwan President | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ted-cruz-texas-governor-meet-with-taiwan-president/2017/01/08/ac6fd0a6-d608-11e6-a0e6-d502d6751bc8_story.html | date=January 8, 2017 | work={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|agency=Associated Press | accessdate=January 14, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1=Horton | first1=Chris | title=Taiwan's President Meets With Ted Cruz in the U.S., and China Objects | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/world/asia/taiwan-ted-cruz-china.html?_r=0 | date=January 9, 2017 | work={{wipe|The New York Times}} | accessdate=January 14, 2017}}</ref>

On January 5, 2017, Cruz voted in favor of a House resolution condemning UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupied [[Place:Palestinian territories|Palestinian territories]] as a violation of international law.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Cortellessa | first1=Eric | title=US House Passes Motion Repudiating UN Resolution on Israel | url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-house-passes-repudiation-of-un-security-council-resolution-on-israel/ | date=January 6, 2017 | website=The Times of Israel | accessdate=January 17, 2017}}</ref>

In June 2017, Cruz co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would make it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against [[Place:Israel|Israel]] and Israeli settlements in the West Bank if protesting actions by the Israeli government.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/720/cosponsors|title=Cosponsors - S.720 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Israel Anti-Boycott Act|date=23 March 2017|website=www.congress.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/07/senate-bill-would-make-it-a-federal-crime-to-boycott-israel.html|title=43 Senators Want to Make It a Federal Crime to Boycott Israeli Settlements|last=Levitz|first=Eric|date=2017-07-19|website=Intelligencer|language=en}}</ref>

In August 2018, Cruz and 16 other lawmakers urged the Trump administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Chinese officials responsible for [[Religion:Xinjiang re-education camps|human rights abuses]] against the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China's [[Place:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]] region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chairs Lead Bipartisan Letter Urging Administration to Sanction Chinese Officials Complicit in Xinjiang Abuses |url=https://www.cecc.gov/media-center/press-releases/chairs-lead-bipartisan-letter-urging-administration-to-sanction-chinese |website=www.cecc.gov |publisher=Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)}}</ref> They wrote: "The detention of as many as a million or more Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in "political reeducation" centers or camps requires a tough, targeted, and global response."<ref>{{cite news |title=China rejects US lawmakers' sanctions call over Muslim camps |url=https://www.apnews.com/22e2fb42383a401ab9a401aa69f79257 |agency=Associated Press |date=August 30, 2018}}</ref>

On December 18, 2018, Cruz and Senator Tom Cotton put forth a resolution in the U.S. Senate urging the United States to affirm Israel's sovereignty over the [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan Heights]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://freebeacon.com/national-security/cotton-cruz-introduce-resolution-encouraging-united-states-recognize-israels-sovereignty-golan-heights/|title=Cotton, Cruz Introduce Resolution Encouraging the United States to Recognize Israel's Sovereignty Over Golan Heights|last=Andrew Kugle|date=December 18, 2018|website=Washington Free Beacon|language=en-US|access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref>

===Health care===
Cruz is a strong critic of the [[Finance:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act|Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] (the ACA or "Obamacare"). He has sponsored legislation that would repeal the health care reform law and its amendments in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Cruz was part of the group of 13 Senators that drafted the Senate version of the AHCA behind closed doors.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/05/politics/senate-republican-health-care-men/index.html|title=GOP defends having no women in health care group|last=Bash|first=Dana|last2=Fox|first2=Lauren|date=May 9, 2017|website=CNN|access-date=June 14, 2017|last3=Barrett|first3=Ted}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/claire-mccaskill-senate-gop-healthcare-bill-secrecy-attack-2017-6|title='We have no idea what's being proposed': Democratic senator gives impassioned speech on GOP healthcare bill secrecy|last=Bryan|first=Bob|date=June 9, 2017|work=Business Insider|access-date=June 17, 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-13/senate-republicans-writing-obamacare-repeal-behind-closed-doors|title=Senate Republicans Are Writing Obamacare Repeal Behind Closed Doors|last=Litvan|first=Laura|date=June 13, 2017|work=Bloomberg.com|access-date=June 17, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/9/15763926/senate-republican-health-care-plan-path|title=Senate Republicans are closer to repealing Obamacare than you think|last=Scott|first=Dylan|date=June 9, 2017|work=Vox|access-date=June 17, 2017}}</ref>

===Hurricane aid===
In 2013, Cruz voted against the bill to provide a package of federal aid to the East Coast for recovery from Hurricane Sandy.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-25/hurricane-harvey-puts-cruz-cornyn-in-political-bind-over-aid| title = Hurricane Harvey Puts Cruz, Cornyn in Political Bind Over Aid| last = Wasson | first = Erik| date = August 25, 2017 | website = bloomberg.com| publisher = [[Company:Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg L.P.]]| access-date = August 26, 2017}}</ref> Cruz said that he did not vote for Sandy disaster relief because the bill was "filled with unrelated pork" and that "two-thirds of that bill had nothing to do with Sandy". ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'' disputed this, writing "The bill was largely aimed at dealing with Sandy, along with relatively minor items to address other or future disasters."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kessler|first1=Glenn|title=Ted Cruz's claim that two-thirds of the Hurricane Sandy bill 'had nothing to do with Sandy'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/29/ted-cruzs-claim-that-two-thirds-of-the-hurricane-sandy-bill-had-nothing-to-do-with-sandy/|accessdate=May 10, 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|date=August 29, 2017}}</ref> ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' wrote that "Of 23 examples of extraneous spending that a spokesman for Mr. Cruz provided, all but one — $195 million in discretionary funds for the secretary of health and human services — were Sandy-related or sought to mitigate future storms, as the law required."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Qiu|first1=Linda|title=Was 2013 Hurricane Sandy Relief Package 'Full of Pork'?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/us/politics/hurricane-sandy-relief-fact-check.html|accessdate=May 10, 2018|newspaper=New York Times|date=August 30, 2017}}</ref>

In 2015, in the wake of fatal flooding in Texas, Cruz supported federal aid funding; in 2017, he called for federal intervention as Hurricane Harvey approached the coast of Texas.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/348015-cruz-cornyn-back-texas-governors-request-for-disaster-declaration | title = Cruz, Cornyn back Texas gov's request for disaster declaration| last = Manchester | first = Julia| date = August 25, 2017| newspaper = The Hill| access-date = August 26, 2017}}</ref>

=== Immigration ===
Cruz adopted a "hard-line stance" on immigration issues during the 2014 border crisis<ref name="Sarlin">Benjy Sarlin, [http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/ted-cruz-immigration-swing-2016 Ted Cruz's hard-line stance renders border crisis key 2016 issue], MSNBC (August 5, 2014).</ref> and is an opponent of comprehensive immigration reform.<ref name="JToobin"/><ref name="Sarlin"/> Cruz advocates for an increase from 65,000 to 325,000 annually in skilled foreign workers entering the United States using H-1B visas.<ref name=Increase_H1B_Visas>{{cite news|title=Ted Cruz, the presidential candidate who wants to increase the H-1B cap by 500%|last=Thibodeau|first=Patrick|url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/2900126/ted-cruz-the-presidential-candidate-who-wants-to-increase-the-h-1b-cap-by-500.html|newspaper=Computerworld|date=May 23, 2015|accessdate=November 10, 2015}}</ref>

According to [[Company:The McClatchy Company|McClatchy]], Cruz staked out "hard-right immigration stances" during his 2016 campaign for the Republican nomination for President.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article188855304.html|title=O'Rourke to Democrats: Don't shut down the government like Ted Cruz|work=mcclatchydc|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

Cruz opposes providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children (so-called DREAMers).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-25/cruz-blasts-citizenship-path-for-dreamers-suggested-by-trump|title=Cruz Blasts Citizenship Path for Dreamers Suggested by Trump|date=January 25, 2018|work=Bloomberg.com|access-date=January 25, 2018|language=en}}</ref> In February 2018, he was the sole Senator to oppose a Republican motion to begin debate on legislation intended to resolve the question of what to do with DREAMers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Ted-Cruz-cast-lone-vote-against-advancing-12608732.php|title=Ted Cruz cast lone vote against advancing 'Dreamer' legislation|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=February 13, 2018}}</ref>

Cruz has called for the repeal of the clause of the 14th amendment, which grants citizenship to those born in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2016/01/cruz-on-birthright-citizenship/|title=Cruz on Birthright Citizenship - FactCheck.org|date=January 20, 2016|work=FactCheck.org|access-date=January 25, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

Cruz defended the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/06/16/ted-cruz-digs-family-separation-beto-orourke-plans-vigil-tornillo-tent-camp|title=Ted Cruz again defends family separation, as Beto O'Rourke plans vigil at Tornillo tent camp|date=June 16, 2018|work=Dallas News|access-date=June 17, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/06/11/ted-cruz-defends-family-separation-complaints-trump-border-crackdown-persist|title=Ted Cruz defends family separation at border as Trump bars asylum claims for domestic abuse or gang violence|date=June 11, 2018|work=Dallas News|access-date=June 17, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Cruz blamed the migrant parents for crossing the US border to seek asylum and argued that the Obama administration had the same policy.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

===Net neutrality===
Cruz opposes [[Net neutrality|net neutrality]]—which prevents Internet service providers from deliberately blocking or slowing particular websites—arguing that the Internet economy has flourished in the United States simply because it has remained largely free from government regulation.<ref name="DotSankin05162014">{{cite news|last=Sankin|first=Aaron|date=May 16, 2014|title=The conservative case against net neutrality|url=http://www.dailydot.com/politics/net-neutrality-ted-cruz-fcc/|newspaper=The Daily Dot|accessdate=November 13, 2014}}</ref> Cruz has argued that net neutrality is the "Obamacare for the internet".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/story/after-fcc-vote-net-neutrality-fight-moves-to-courts-congress/|title=The FCC Just Killed Net Neutrality. Now What?|work=WIRED|access-date=December 15, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Net-neutrality-fight-offers-another-contrast-in-12382030.php|title=Net neutrality fight offers another contrast in 2018 Senate race|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=December 15, 2017}}</ref> Cruz said that the Obama-era implementation of the principle of net neutrality had the "end result" of "less broadband, less innovation, and less freedom for the American consumer".<ref name=":2" /> In December 2017, after the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission repealed net neutrality, Cruz mocked supporters of net neutrality as "snowflakes" who were misled by "online propaganda".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ted-cruz-lays-out-how-a-snowflake-learns-about-net-neutrality-propaganda/article/2643593|title=Ted Cruz lays out how a 'snowflake' learns about net neutrality 'propaganda'|last=Chaitin|first=Daniel|work=Washington Examiner|access-date=December 15, 2017|language=en}}</ref>

===Social issues===
On [[Medicine:Abortion|abortion]], Cruz is "strongly pro-life" and "would allow the procedure only when a pregnancy endangers the mother's life".<ref>{{cite news |last=Barnhart |first=Melissa |date=June 27, 2013 |title=Pro-Life Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to Speak at National Right to Life Convention in Dallas |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/pro-life-sen-ted-cruz-of-texas-to-speak-at-national-right-to-life-convention-in-dallas-98910/ |newspaper=[[Religion:The Christian Post|The Christian Post]] |location=[[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]] |access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref><ref name="fikac">{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/news/fikac/article/Fikac-Senate-hopeful-Cruz-casts-himself-as-3381330.php|title=Senate hopeful Cruz casts himself as conservative warrior|last=Fikac|first=Peggy|work=Houston Chronicle|date=March 4, 2012|accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref> He is in favor of cutting federal funding to Planned Parenthood.<ref>Everett, Burgess (February 12, 2016). [http://www.politico.com/blogs/south-carolina-primary-2016-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/ted-cruz-marco-rubio-planned-parenthood-219229 Cruz attacks Rubio on Planned Parenthood.] ''Politico.'' Retrieved: April 12, 2016.</ref>
 
Cruz opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrc.org/2016RepublicanFacts/ted-cruz|title=Ted Cruz: Not a Fan of Pride Parades|work=Human Rights Campaign}}</ref> He believes that marriage should be legally defined as only "between one man and one woman",<ref>Miller, Jake. November 9, 2013. [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-cruz-talks-guns-same-sex-marriage-obamacare-with-jay-leno/ Ted Cruz talks guns, same-sex marriage, Obamacare with Jay Leno]. CBS News. Retrieved December 11, 2013.</ref> but believes that the legality of same-sex marriage should be left to each state to decide.<ref name=TonightShowLeno>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/senator-ted-cruz-on-gay-marriage/n43013|title=Senator Ted Cruz on Same Sex Marriage|newspaper=The Tonight Show|publisher=NBC|accessdate=December 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213044614/http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/senator-ted-cruz-on-gay-marriage/n43013|archive-date=December 13, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Cruz referred to the Supreme Court's decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide as "among the darkest hours of our nation" and accused the court of [[Philosophy:Judicial activism|judicial activism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2015/06/27/Ted-Cruz-Gay-marriage-ruling-makes-one-of-darkest-days-in-US-history/9301435429916/|title=Ted Cruz: Gay marriage decision one of 'darkest' in U.S. history - UPI.com|date=June 27, 2015|work=UPI}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:HeidiTedCruzVers2Houston31MARCH2015 - Copy.jpg|thumb|upright|Cruz with his wife, Heidi, at a rally in Houston, March 2015]]
Cruz married Heidi Nelson on May 27, 2001;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/26/us/ted-cruz-fast-facts/|title=Ted Cruz Fast Facts|publisher=CNN|date=March 26, 2015}}</ref> they have two daughters, Caroline and Catherine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/25/ted-cruz-daughter-2-i-want-work-daddy/ |title=Ted Cruz's daughter, 2: 'I want to work with daddy'|work=The Washingtion Times}}</ref> The couple met when Cruz was working on George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. Heidi took leave from her position as head of the Southwest Region in the Investment Management Division of [[Company:Goldman Sachs|Goldman, Sachs & Co.]] in 2016 to support Ted Cruz's run for the U.S. president.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Plott |first1=Elaina |title=Heidi Cruz Didn't Plan for This |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/10/heidi-cruz-ted-his-senate-bid-and-2016-race/573256/ |website=The Atlantic}}</ref> She previously worked in the White House for Condoleezza Rice and in New York as an investment banker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.houston.org/about/board-staff.html#board/212727|title=Board Member Bios: Heidi Cruz|publisher=Greater Houston Partnership|accessdate=August 16, 2013}}<br/>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-23/cruz-s-wife-heidi-said-to-take-unpaid-leave-from-goldman|title=Cruz's Wife Heidi to Take Unpaid Leave From Goldman|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|accessdate=March 23, 2015|first=Michael J|last=Moore|date=March 23, 2015}}</ref>

Cruz has joked, "I'm Cuban, Irish, and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist."<ref name="DMNCruzCuban12202012">{{cite news |date=December 20, 2012 |title=Editorial: Texan of the Year finalist Ted Cruz |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20121220-editorial-texan-of-the-year-finalist-ted-cruz.ece |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |location=Dallas, Texas |publisher=[[Company:A. H. Belo|A. H. Belo]] |accessdate=February 28, 2016}}</ref> He loves to wear cowboy boots, but he refrained from doing so when arguing before the Rehnquist court.<ref>Kelly, Amita. (23 March 2015). "What You Need To Know About Ted Cruz". [https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/03/23/394719332/what-you-need-to-know-about-ted-cruz NPR website] Retrieved 19 December 2019.</ref>

==Electoral history==
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Republican primary results<ref>{{cite web|date=May 29, 2017|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|title=2012 Republican Party Primary Election|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist160_state.htm|access-date=August 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030154824/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist160_state.htm|archive-date=October 30, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = David Dewhurst
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 627,731
| percentage = 44.63
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Ted Cruz
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 480,558
| percentage = 34.16
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Tom Leppert
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 187,900
| percentage = 13.36
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Craig James
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 50,569
| percentage = 3.60
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Glenn Addison
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 23,177
| percentage = 1.65
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Lela Pittenger
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 18,143
| percentage = 1.29
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Ben Gambini
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 7,225
| percentage = 0.51
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Curt Cleaver
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 6,671
| percentage = 0.47
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Joe Argis
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 4,674
| percentage = 0.33
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes      = 1,406,648
| percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title = Republican runoff results<ref>{{cite web|date=July 31, 2012|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|title=2012 Republican Party Primary Runoff|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist162_state.htm|access-date=August 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515185728/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist162_state.htm|archive-date=May 15, 2016|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Ted Cruz
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 631,812
| percentage = 56.82
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = David Dewhurst
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 480,126
| percentage = 43.18
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes      = 1,111,938
| percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin | title=United States Senate election in Texas, 2012<ref>{{cite web|date=November 6, 2012|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist164_state.htm|title=2012 General Election|access-date=August 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217215221/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist164_state.htm|archive-date=February 17, 2015|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
 | party      = Republican Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Ted Cruz
 | votes      = 4,440,137
 | percentage = 56.46%
 | change     = -5.23%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Paul Sadler
 | votes      = 3,194,927
 | percentage = 40.62%
 | change     = +4.58%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
 | candidate  = John Jay Myers
 | votes      = 162,354
 | percentage = 2.06%
 | change     = -0.20%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Green Party (United States)
 | candidate  = David Collins
 | votes      = 67,404
 | percentage = 0.86%
 | change     = N/A
}}
{{Election box total
 | votes      = '''7,864,822'''
 | percentage = '''100.0%'''
 | change     = N/A
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
 | winner     = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change
| title = Republican primary results, Texas 2018<ref name="United States Senate Republican primary election in Texas, 2018">{{cite web|title=United States Senate Republican primary election in Texas, 2018|url=https://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist325_state.htm}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Ted Cruz (incumbent)
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 1,322,724
| percentage = 85.36%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Mary Miller
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 94,715
| percentage = 6.11%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Bruce Jacobson, Jr.
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 64,791
| percentage = 4.18%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Stefano de Stefano
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 44,456
| percentage = 2.87%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Geraldine Sam
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 22,887
| percentage = 1.48%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes      = 1,549,573
| percentage = 100%
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin | title=United States Senate election in Texas, 2018<ref>{{cite web|title=2018 General Election |url=https://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist331_race832.htm|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=December 5, 2018}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
 | party      = Republican Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Ted Cruz (incumbent)
 | votes      = 4,260,553
 | percentage = 50.89%
 | change     = -5.57%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Beto O'Rourke
 | votes      = 4,045,632
 | percentage = 48.33%
 | change     = +7.71%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Neal Dikeman 
 | votes      = 65,470
 | percentage = 0.78%
 | change     = -1.28%
}}
{{Election box total
 | votes      = '''8,371,655'''
 | percentage = '''100%'''
 | change     = N/A
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

==See also==
* Conspiracy theories related to the Trump–Ukraine scandal
* List of foreign-born United States politicians
* Legal challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act''
* List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
* List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
* List of United States Senators born outside the United States

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.cruz.senate.gov/ U.S. Senator Ted Cruz]
* [https://www.tedcruz.org/ Campaign website]
* [https://www.oyez.org/advocates/r_ted_cruz Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court] from the Oyez Project
* {{Ballotpedia|Ted_Cruz}}
* {{C-SPAN|rcruz}}
* [https://www.texastribune.org/texas-people/ted-cruz/ Ted Cruz] collected news and commentary at ''The Texas Tribune''
* {{NYT topic|people/c/ted_cruz}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100521123956/http://www.morganlewis.com/bios/tcruz R. (Ted) Edward Cruz] – profile at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (archived)
* {{Curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/Texas/Government/Federal/US_Senate/Ted_Cruz_%5BR%5D}}
*{{twitter|tedcruz}}

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[[Category:Climate change skepticism and denial]]

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