Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will announce the launch of his presidential campaign in a speech Monday at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., according to one of his advisers.
Cruz’s speech at the private Christian university was already fueling media speculation about his presidential plans and the confirmation to McClatchy that he will begin his campaign instead of forming an exploratory committee signals the beginning of the GOP primary season.
Cruz’s plan to announce his campaign Monday was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
The brash move to start his campaign in March makes Cruz the first of the leading GOP contenders to formally announce for president. Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, in December started a political action committee to explore a presidential bid. And Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. has scheduled an event April 7 in Louisville where he is expected to announce he’s running.
Cruz, 44, was elected to the Senate in 2012, his first run at elective office in a bruising campaign against then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. But Cruz, an attorney with a persuasive speaking style, caught fire with the tea party and beat Dewhurst in the GOP primary and easily won the general election in red Texas.
He has been a controversial figure in the Senate, helping force a partial government shut-down in 2013 and alienating members from both sides of the aisle.
But he is popular among tea party followers and evangelicals, a position reinforced by his appearance at a university founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, a leader of the Christian Right. Cruz’s Liberty University speech is part of a series of weekly talks known as the “convocation” and is expected to attract 10,000 students.