Rafael Edward Cruz (/kruːz/; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election.\n', '

Cruz was raised in Houston, Texas. He holds degrees from from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. From 1999 to 2003, he held various government positions; Cruz served as Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Justice Department, and as a Domestic Policy Advisor to George W. Bush on the 2000 George W. Bush presidential campaign. Cruz served as 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 was the first Hispanic American to serve in that capacity. From 2004 to 2009, Cruz was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation.\n', '

In 2012, Cruz ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat vacated by fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison. He is the first Hispanic American to serve as a U.S. Senator representing Texas. Along with Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio, Cruz is one of three Senators of Cuban descent. He announced his re-election campaign for the Senate in the 2018 midterm elections, and faces Democratic challenger Beto O\'Rourke in the election in November.\n', '

Return to Ted Cruz Autograph Profile