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After the theatrical launch of his presidential campaign Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz now faces a massive hurdle: raising the tens of millions of dollars it will take to mount a year-and-a-half long campaign. The Texas Republican and tea party darling is months behind his competitors in recruiting the megadonors and bundlers essential to a credible GOP primary bid. He’s not well-liked among cash-flush lobbyists. And his uncompromising policy positions and role in forcing the government shutdown in 2013 didn’t exactly excite the financiers and business executives who make up the elite donor class. Those considerations, along with the need to...

Ted Cruz’s splashy entry into the 2016 race Monday intensifies the early battle to consolidate conservative voters who are intent on denying the Republican Party establishment yet another presidential nomination.

The war of words over climate change is getting blisteringly hot between Gov. Jerry Brown and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, with the Republican presidential candidate blithely dismissing the Democratic governor as one of those “global warming alarmists” who relies on ridicule and insult. A Brown campaign strategist shot back Monday that the “factually irrational” Cruz is apparently now determined to “stand out from a pack of troglodytes in the GOP race for the White House.” The public slap down — and the dis of Brown — came as Cruz formally announced his run for the White House at Liberty University...

Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City have the highest Job Creation Index scores among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, based on employee reports of hiring activity where they work. San Francisco, Houston and Orlando rank just behind Austin and Salt Lake City in job creation. Many of the top-ranking metro areas are being boosted by growth in technology jobs, including traditional tech centers in San Francisco and San Jose but also emerging ones in Austin and Salt Lake City. These latter two may be increasingly attractive destinations for tech workers, given salaries that are becoming more competitive for the...

The billowing canopies went up on a bare patch of the Texas City refinery grounds during a repair cycle last fall. Some workers saw the tents as just a place to eat lunch. Brian Ambrose saw a nightmare repeating itself. He is one of the few remaining employees who encountered the horrors of 2005, when the BP unit on the same patch of earth erupted in explosions, leaving a charred mass of twisted metal, pulverized office trailers and the remains of 15 people. Others, including many of the roughly 180 injured, have retired or moved elsewhere. Ambrose, who was assigned...

Sen. Ted Cruz gave the convocation address at Liberty University this morning where he announced to a standing ovation his candidacy for the president of the United States. You can watch the full speech below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB3smCq7Mjo

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz announced that he will run for president in 2016 via a Twitter post early Monday, becoming the first major candidate to officially declare. "I'm ready to stand with you to lead the fight," Cruz says as the video concludes. Shortly after midnight Monday, the campaign had launched its website.  Cruz had been expected to make the official announcement later Monday during a speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He is expected to start his campaign immediately rather than launch an exploratory committee, which many do as a precursor to a campaign. 

Sen. Ted Cruz’s nascent campaign for the White House is running into its first signs of digital trouble. While the firebrand Texas Republican prepares to announce his bid for the presidency on Monday morning, he does not appear to have control over the most obvious website to rally supporters: TedCruz.com. Instead, people trying to visit that site will get the opposite message. “Support President Obama,” the site says in simple white text on a black background. “Immigration reform now!” According to Internet records, TedCruz.com was created in April of 2004 but then switched ownership last spring. Archived versions of the...

 Today Ted Cruz announced his campaign for President at Liberty University to a crowd of Rand Paul Supporters.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., on Monday is expected to announce he's running for president. However well he ends up doing in the Republican primaries, one thing is for sure — the development is terrible news for Sen. Rand Paul's presidential ambitions. Whatever small chance Paul had in the 2016 presidential race was premised on his ability to reach beyond the core supporters of his father's, by articulating a message that appealed to a broader coalition of Republicans. The biggest opportunity Paul had for growth was with Tea Party voters who would be drawn to his limited government message. The biggest...

exas commemorates the Confederacy in many ways, from an annual celebration of Confederate Heroes Day each January to monuments on the grounds of the state Capitol in Austin. Among the memorials is one that has stood for more than a century, bearing an image of the Confederate battle flag etched in marble. But you're out of luck if you want to put that flag on your license plate. Texas says that would be offensive. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether the state can refuse to issue a license plate featuring the battle flag without violating the free-speech rights of...

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” veteran lawmaker Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), his long time friend, is his first choice, he will support Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) if he wins the nomination for president in the 2016 election. McCain said, “If the Republicans Party nominates him, I do. He is a valued member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He and I are friendly and I think he is a very viable candidate.”

In an interview on Fox News yesterday, Ken Paxton, the attorney general of the State of Texas, was asked whether America is heading toward “a constitutional crisis” because of Obama’s total disregard for Congress and now the courts. (The segment begins at the 2:55 mark in the Fox News video, here.) Paxton replied: “I think we are. If you think about what’s going on here — the President is violating federal law, the U.S. Constitution, which is going past what Congress is supposed to be doing, and now we’ve got the administration in court not being forthcoming about they’re supposed...

Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for president via Twitter a couple hours ago and will follow up in person later today. I've stepped aboard with a quick $25 donation. I challenge Freepers to match my donation and help give Ted Cruz a strong start to his campaign. Link: http://www.tedcruz.org/ Even if you are not sure you who you will support, I think $25 is a worthy statement to say Go! as we officially see the 2016 presidential campaign get underway. Personally, I'm not all in for Cruz just yet, but think a positive anti-GOPe start is critically important. So what...

When Republican presidential posturing turns into definitive action, the critics come out like clockwork. It happened last week when Donald Trump announced he had formed a presidential exploratory committee and was immediately met with accusations he was disingenuous, unqualified or seeking publicity. Something similar is now underway against Sen. Ted Cruz, who will step before a Liberty University student convocation at precisely 10 a.m. on Monday and reveal he’s running for the White House in 2016. The Texas Republican is skipping the exploratory phase. Caustic headlines have arrived before he even gets to the microphone, these from the last 48...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz will announce Monday that he is launching his campaign to become the 2016 Republican nominee for president. Cruz has been positioning for this nomination almost since he entered the upper chamber in 2012. His announcement takes place at a bastion of conservatism, Liberty University, the institution founded by evangelical leader Jerry Falwell. Cruz is going to run from the right. He has spent much of his short career in Washington blasting the "mushy middle" of his party (which might be news to most Democrats) which he dismisses as a "failed electoral strategy." During a recent visit...

Now that it’s been confirmed that Ted Cruz is running for president, it’s time for everyone to weigh in, and Scott Walker was one of the first to be asked about the announcement on Fox News. Walker was very gracious to Ted Cruz, while jabbing at Jeb Bush yet again by saying we need a fresh face to combat Hillary’s haggard decrepit visage. Watch.. [comments start at 6 minute mark] [full interview with Fox runs around 8:00] While Cruz will almost certainly get a bump for being the first candidate to declare his campaign, Walker is still ahead in the...

Senator Ted Cruz spoke at Heritage Action’s 2015 Conservative Policy Summit on Monday and announced a ten point plan he believes the nation, led by a Republican Congress, should focus on for 2016.The 2016 potential presidential candidate, a staunch defender of the U.S. Constitution, outlined his plan, which focused on restoring a growing job market, increasing individual liberty, and enhancing national security (WATCH FULL SPEECH BELOW).Cruz said that the GOP has an “incredible opportunity” to lead and that the historic 2014 midterm election results weren’t because voters suddenly loved Republicans, but that they were “roundly repudiating the path we’re on.” Cruz...

(CNN)Ted Cruz is first out the gate. The first-term senator from Texas announced early Monday he is running for president. Cruz announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in a 30-second video message in a tweet shortly after midnight Monday. Later in the day, he will appear at Virginia's Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world, where he will make his in-person declaration. "I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!" Cruz said in his tweet.Cruz, 44, will be the first candidate to formally throw his hat in the ring for what's expected...