Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz
Born	Rafael Edward Cruz 22 12, 1970
Birthplace	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, attorney
Known for	U.S. Senator from Texas, 2016 presidential candidate
Education	Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Children	2
Awards	Mr. South Texas (2026)
Website	[[cruz.senate.gov cruz.senate.gov] Official site]

Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to a Cuban-born father and an American mother, Cruz rose through the legal and political ranks to become one of the most prominent conservative voices in American politics. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as the Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008 before winning election to the U.S. Senate in 2012, becoming the first Hispanic American to represent Texas in the Senate. Cruz sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, finishing as the runner-up to Donald Trump in a primary contest marked by sharp personal exchanges. Since January 2025, Cruz has served as Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Early Life

Ted Cruz was born on December 22, 1970, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His father, Rafael Cruz, was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States in the late 1950s. The elder Cruz's personal narrative of his early life, including accounts of fighting against the Batista regime in Cuba, has been the subject of scrutiny and dispute from some of his Cuban peers. Cruz's mother, Eleanor Darragh, was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and held American citizenship, which conferred U.S. citizenship on Cruz at birth despite his Canadian birthplace.

Cruz grew up in the Houston, Texas, area. He held dual Canadian-American citizenship until 2014, when he formally renounced his Canadian citizenship after media coverage drew attention to the issue during his rise in national politics. The question of whether Cruz's birth abroad affected his eligibility for the presidency under the Natural-born-citizen clause of the U.S. Constitution became a recurring topic during his 2016 presidential campaign, though most constitutional scholars held that his citizenship through his American-born mother satisfied the requirement.

Education

Cruz attended Princeton University, where he was a standout member of the debate team. At Princeton, he honed the rhetorical and advocacy skills that would later characterize his political career, earning a reputation as a formidable debater and an intellectual force. He graduated from Princeton with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Cruz then enrolled at Harvard Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctor. During his time at Harvard, Cruz served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. After law school, he clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and subsequently for Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States. A 2012 profile in The New York Times described Cruz as "known as an intellectual force" in Republican circles.

Career

Early Legal and Political Career

Following his clerkships, Cruz entered the intersection of law and politics. He served as a policy advisor during the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush and later held positions in the Bush administration. He was involved in the Bush v. Gore litigation surrounding the 2000 presidential election.

In January 2003, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appointed Cruz to serve as the Solicitor General of Texas, making him the first Hispanic and the youngest person to hold the position. As Solicitor General, Cruz represented the state of Texas before the Supreme Court of the United States and other federal and state appellate courts. He argued multiple cases before the Supreme Court during his tenure, which lasted until May 2008. After leaving the Solicitor General's office, Cruz entered private legal practice. A 2016 analysis in The New York Times examined the duality of Cruz's legal career, noting his role as both a tort reformer in public service and a personal injury lawyer in private practice.

2012 U.S. Senate Campaign

Cruz entered the 2012 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison. His candidacy was seen as a test case for the Tea Party movement's influence in Texas politics. Running as a conservative outsider, Cruz defeated the heavily favored Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in a runoff election, a result that sent shockwaves through the Texas political establishment.

His Senate campaign drew financial support from a variety of sources. The New York Times later reported that Cruz and his wife had used a Goldman Sachs loan to help finance the campaign, a detail that drew scrutiny when it was revealed during his 2016 presidential bid because the loan had not been properly disclosed on Federal Election Commission filings.

Cruz won the general election in November 2012 and was sworn in on January 3, 2013, becoming the first Hispanic American to serve as a U.S. senator from Texas. A 2015 New York Times editorial described his election as emblematic of "the new politics of Texas."

U.S. Senate: First Term (2013–2019)

In the Senate, Cruz quickly established himself as one of the chamber's most conservative members, staking out firm positions on economic and social issues. He became a prominent figure in the 2013 federal government shutdown, during which he led a high-profile effort to defund the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Cruz delivered a lengthy speech on the Senate floor that lasted over 21 hours, in which he urged Congress and President Barack Obama to strip funding from the ACA. The effort ultimately failed, and the government shutdown was widely criticized, but it elevated Cruz's national profile among conservative voters.

Cruz also took notable positions on judicial nominations. Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016, Cruz argued that President Obama should not name Scalia's successor, contending that the vacancy should be filled by the next president. This position aligned with the broader Republican strategy of blocking the nomination of Merrick Garland.

2016 Presidential Campaign

On March 23, 2015, Cruz announced his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, becoming the first major candidate to formally enter the race. Cruz positioned himself as a consistent constitutional conservative and sought to build a coalition of evangelical Christians, Tea Party supporters, and libertarian-leaning voters.

The primary campaign became one of the most contentious in modern Republican history. Cruz emerged as the principal challenger to front-runner Donald Trump, and the two candidates engaged in intense and often deeply personal exchanges. Cruz won several state primaries and caucuses, demonstrating particular strength in states with large evangelical populations. However, Trump's dominance in delegate-rich states ultimately proved insurmountable. Cruz suspended his campaign in May 2016 after losing the Indiana primary.

Following Trump's securing of the nomination, Cruz initially withheld his endorsement. At the 2016 Republican National Convention, Cruz delivered a speech in which he notably declined to endorse Trump, instead urging delegates to "vote your conscience." The speech drew a mixed reaction from convention attendees, including boos from Trump supporters. Cruz eventually endorsed Trump in September 2016 ahead of the general election.

U.S. Senate: Reelection and Subsequent Terms

Cruz ran for reelection to the Senate in 2018, facing Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke in a race that attracted national attention and record levels of campaign spending. The contest was unusually competitive for a Senate race in Texas, reflecting both O'Rourke's energetic campaign and shifting demographics in the state. Cruz won reelection by a margin of approximately 2.6 percentage points, a notably narrow victory for a Republican incumbent in Texas.

In the Senate, Cruz continued to position himself as a leading conservative voice. He opposed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that passed in 2021 with broad bipartisan support, aimed at addressing the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.

January 6 and 2020 Election Certification

In January 2021, Cruz was among the Republican senators who objected to the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. Cruz led a group of senators who called for the establishment of an electoral commission to audit disputed election results before certification. His objections came on the same day as the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in which supporters of President Trump breached the Capitol building.

Cruz's role in the events surrounding January 6 became a subject of significant public debate. In January 2022, Cruz referred to the Capitol attack as a "violent terrorist attack" during a Senate hearing, a characterization that drew immediate backlash from conservative commentators and Trump supporters. Cruz subsequently appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News program to walk back the remark, describing his use of the word "terrorist" as "sloppy" and "frankly dumb." CNN's fact-checking unit examined the exchange and Cruz's subsequent attempt to reframe his original statement.

Cancún Controversy

In February 2021, during a severe winter storm that caused widespread power outages and water shortages across Texas, Cruz traveled to Cancún, Mexico, with his family for a vacation. The trip sparked an immediate public outcry, as millions of Texans were enduring life-threatening conditions at home. Cruz initially stated that the trip was intended to be a brief excursion to accompany his daughters, but text messages reported by The New York Times indicated that the trip had been planned as a longer stay. Cruz returned to Texas the following day and acknowledged that the trip had been "a mistake." The incident became one of the most widely discussed controversies of Cruz's career and was frequently referenced by political opponents during his subsequent reelection campaign.

2024 Reelection and Committee Leadership

Cruz was reelected to a third Senate term in the 2024 general election. Upon the convening of the new Congress in January 2025, Cruz assumed the chairmanship of the Senate Commerce Committee, succeeding Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. In this capacity, Cruz has overseen legislative matters related to commerce, transportation, communications, and technology.

In 2025, Cruz drafted and led the congressional effort to pass the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Also in 2025, Cruz introduced legislation to create what later became known as Trump Accounts.

Recent Legislative Activity

As Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Cruz has taken an active role in overseeing federal agencies. In February 2026, he called for a classified briefing regarding the Federal Aviation Administration's closure of Texas airspace, a decision that raised questions among lawmakers and the public.

Cruz has also weighed in on ongoing debates over the regulation of college athletics. In early 2026, he stated that it was "absolutely critical" that any federal legislation related to college sports not classify college athletes as employees, a position aligned with the NCAA's stance on maintaining the amateur status of student-athletes.

In January 2026, secret recordings emerged in which Cruz criticized President Trump's tariff policies and Vice President JD Vance, according to reporting by Axios. Separately, The Guardian reported that Cruz had privately warned Trump that Republicans risked a "bloodbath" in the midterm elections if consumer prices continued to rise, to which Trump reportedly responded angrily.

In February 2026, Cruz made headlines for inviting NYPD officers to relocate to Texas after a snowball attack on officers during a New York City winter storm.

Cruz was also reported to have warned Mexican officials that President Trump would take action if Mexico did not increase efforts to combat drug cartels, comments made in the context of U.S. anti-narcotics policy.

In January 2026, President Trump publicly floated Cruz's name as a potential future Supreme Court nominee during a media appearance.

Personal Life

Ted Cruz is married to Heidi Cruz (née Nelson), a managing director at Goldman Sachs. The couple has two daughters. The family resides in Houston, Texas.

Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, emigrated from Cuba to the United States and became an American citizen. The elder Cruz has been active in conservative politics and as a pastor. Cruz has spoken publicly about his father's immigration story as part of his own political narrative, though aspects of the family history have been the subject of journalistic scrutiny.

The 2021 Cancún trip during the Texas winter storm drew significant attention to Cruz's personal decision-making and was broadly covered in national media. Cruz acknowledged the trip as an error in judgment and subsequently participated in relief efforts in Texas.

Cruz has been noted for his rhetorical style, which observers have traced to his background in competitive debate at Princeton.

Recognition

In February 2026, Cruz received the Mr. South Texas award, a distinction recognizing contributions to the South Texas region.

Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign, while ultimately unsuccessful, established him as one of the leading figures in the Republican Party's conservative wing. His performance in the primary — winning multiple states and accumulating the second-highest delegate count — demonstrated his capacity to build a national political coalition. In January 2026, President Trump publicly mentioned Cruz as a potential future Supreme Court justice, an indication of Cruz's continued prominence within Republican politics despite periodic tensions between the two.

Cruz has authored two books: A Time for Truth (2015), a memoir and political manifesto, and One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History (2020), focused on landmark Supreme Court cases. He also hosts the podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz, which has attracted a significant conservative audience.

Legacy

Cruz's career has been defined by his role as one of the most prominent conservative figures in the U.S. Senate since his election in 2012. His willingness to challenge party leadership and take politically risky positions — such as his role in the 2013 government shutdown and his initial refusal to endorse Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention — has earned him both praise from the conservative base and criticism from colleagues within his own party.

As the first Hispanic American to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, Cruz's election in 2012 was a landmark in the state's political history. His political trajectory — from Tea Party insurgent to senior committee chairman — reflects broader shifts within the Republican Party over the past decade.

Cruz's role in the events surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, particularly his objection to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, remains a defining and contentious chapter of his career. His subsequent handling of the controversy, including the widely covered exchange with Tucker Carlson over his use of the word "terrorist," illustrated the complex political dynamics Cruz has navigated between the Trump-aligned wing of the Republican Party and his own political identity.

As Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Cruz continues to shape policy on a wide range of issues including telecommunications, transportation, and emerging technology. The secret recordings reported by Axios in January 2026, in which Cruz criticized Trump administration policies, alongside Trump's public mention of Cruz as a potential Supreme Court justice, underscore the complex and evolving relationship between Cruz and the broader Republican establishment.