Washington, March 23 (Xinhua-RHC) -- Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz on Monday announced his 2016 presidential bid, making him the first candidate to enter what is expected to be a crowded Republican primary.
Cruz, 44, announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on twitter shortly after midnight Monday.
As a leader of the Tea Party movement, Cruz is popular among conservative constituencies. However, with more than a dozen predominant Republicans expressing interests in the 2016 presidential bid, analysts believe Cruz has a long way to go in winning broad support in the Republican base.