Could Ted Cruz be the next President of the United States?
"I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!" the Texas Senator tweeted Monday.
First elected to the Senate in 2012, the conservative Republican previously served as Texas' solicitor general.
Cruz is the first person to make a bid for the 2016 election. His tweet included a 30-second video that featured the politician speaking over a montage of farm fields, city skylines, churches, U.S. landmarks and more, calling on "a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make America great again."
"I'm ready to stand with you to lead the fight," Cruz said at the video's conclusion.
Shortly after midnight Monday, Cruz's campaign also launched its website.
Cruz had been expected to make the announcement Monday during a speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. However, he told his followers that the news would come Sunday night. "Tonight around midnight there will be some news you won't want to miss. Stay tuned…" Cruz tweeted at 7:05 p.m. ET.
A favorite of the Tea Party movement, Cruz is expected to begin his campaign immediately. He chose not to launch an exploratory committee, which many people do as a precursor to a campaign. In a March NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 40 percent of GOP primary voters said that they could see themselves supporting Cruz for president, while 38 percent said they could not see themselves backing him. Other candidates who have been rumored to run for the GOP nomination include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Cruz has led the fight to repeal Obamacare, and critics blamed him for 2013's government shutdown.
A Princeton and Harvard educated lawyer, Cruz is the proud son of a Cuban immigrant. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has two daughters, Caroline and Catherine, with his wife, Heidi Suzanne Nelson.
In recent weeks, Cruz's citizenship was called into question. "There is no question that Senator Cruz has been a citizen from birth and is thus a 'natural born Citizen' within the meaning of the Constitution," Neal Katyal, acting solicitor general in President Barack Obama's administration, and Paul Clemente, solicitor general in the President George W. Bush administration, wrote in a joint article, per Fox News.
Cruz addressed the controversy last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "I was born in Calgary. My mother was an American citizen by birth," the politician said. "Under federal law, that made me an American citizen by birth. The Constitution requires that you be a natural-born citizen."
Following Monday's speech at Liberty University, Cruz will speak with Fox News' Sean Hannity.
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